The Adventures of Trey and Kate
by Shepard Supreme
Summary: Trey and his sister, Kate, wake up in the Circle of Magi.  Why is Flemeth stalking them in their dreams?  How do their actions change history?  Can Alistair ever woo his woman?  Why is there so much cursing in this fanfic?  Why do I keep asking questions?
1. Bio Salud

_I thought my introduction was in dire need of a re-do. _

_Yes, this is another 'character from earth goes to Ferelden' story….sort of. _

_However, these kids aren't trying to stay in this world, find true love, and kill darkspawn all day long. They want to get home. _

_This story concentrates on how they got there, how to get back home, and why they were sent there in the first place. So, many aspects of this story is a mystery. Little clues are sprinkled throughout the chapters, so that (hopefully) when you finally figure out what the hell's going on, your going to have an 'a-ha' moment._

_When you read this first chapter, your probably going to be thinking: wow these kids are immature. Of course they are, they're kids playing a video game teasing each other. Don't worry they grow up a bit : )_

_Warning: There is so much cussing in the first six chapters. I'm sorry to those of you who are really against cursing, this is just how my characters act. When you get to later chapters there isn't nearly as much swearing, I swear :D_

_Anyway, I hope you enjoy: The Adventures of Trey and Kate!_

_Peace_

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**The Adventures of Trey and Kate**

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**Bio Salud**

"Yo' bro, grab me a Dew!"

Trey's _darling _sister had made this request only seconds after he had exited the kitchen. This kind of perfect timing seemed to be an unwavering habit she had picked up over the years. Unsure if he could actually carry everything he had shoveled into his arms before this request, he resolved to making a second trip for the "Dew".

With a heavy sigh he dropped all the contents on his bed. It was the only thing in Trey's room that had remained clean and neat since Kate had come home for the week.

"Dude, what are those? Bio salud?" she asked, crinkling her nose slightly.

Trey picked up the object of her confusion. "It's a yogurt drink from Mexico, or something. And besides, shouldn't you know more about Spanish? Or did you just sleep through those three classes?"

"Bro, two of those classes were the same class.", she grinned, "Now hand me one and we will get this party started!"

Trey tossed her the small bottle, then started setting up the PS3 that Kate had convinced him she could not set up on her own. Of course this was a lie. But he kind of missed doing the small things she didn't like doing. It had been nearly two months since he had seen her last. College did nothing for how sloppy she was. He had been to her dorm room only once before. Words could not express how utterly horrifying it was. Clothes were strewn from the bedroom to the hallway that led to her living room. There, she had collected a tower of pizza boxes and a sink of never ending dishes. He vowed that weekend that this would not happen to his room. Made her swear on the grave of their dead dog, Peep, that she would keep her shit in her room. This was also a lie.

The thing is, he couldn't really get mad at her. He missed her a lot since she had been gone. Things were not the same. Their relationship was much like the typical brother-sister scenario: half hearted teasing, heated arguments, and the occasional meaningful conversation. Unlike the typical sibling duo was an excessive amount of cursing and shared love for gaming.

Kate was not your typical college female. She dressed like one, and on most days smelled like one. Most people had her pegged for worlds biggest party girl. In truth, Kate had never been one to go on a booze-fest. Or drink at all really. Most of her friends knew that, once you took away the abercrombie jeans and preppy polo shirts, she was the world's biggest nerd.

For all of her sloppy, extroverted, and confident demeanor, Trey was everything opposite. Everything had to be in order and neat in his room. He took particular pride in his appearance. Never really got out much, accepting a life of solitude and non-stop Halo. He was the yin and she was definitely the yang.

He sought approval, she could care less.

He was socially awkward, she was a socialite.

He owned an Xbox, she owned a PS3.

He ha...

"Oh my God! This tastes like someone took a piss in a glass full of dirt!", Kate coughed from the recliner.

What the hell was he thinking giving her this crap! She sat the mostly full bottle of dirt piss next to his box of wrist watches. He sure had a thing for watches.

Trey shot straight up, "What is wrong with you? They taste like liquid gummy bears!"

"Whatevs, I'm going to get that Mountain Dew you were supposed to get."

"Yeah, yeah."

"Then we Dragon Age it up! And shrimp, I will beat this game, have the highest level character, and become Hero of Ferelden before you can even think about leaving Ostagar." She smiled to herself, though she knew her exaggerated taunting meant little to him. All they both wanted was to make the perfect character play through in time for the up and coming sequel. Still, she liked adding a little excitement to the task. She had even convinced him to let them snack in the room. No small feat with his cleaning obsession. Yes, it was going to be a good night for kicking darkspawn ass!


	2. To Mage or Not To Mage

_Okay, now that you have met my characters the fun will begin :)_

_Hope you love it. If not let me know!_

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**To Mage or Not To Mage**

"Seriously! Should I be a human noble or a mage?"

Trey was getting slightly irritated with her questioning. He knew in the end she would probably pick the human noble just to be Queen of Ferelden, or to smash things with a sword.

"I think you should be a mage. That's what I'm choosing." he said. He was partially testing to see if he would take his advice for once. But in all honesty, he had grown fond of the the magi origins story. And it _was_ pretty cool having an extra healer in the party.

She surprised him when she decided to be a human mage, just as he had.

It took several minutes, but they finally made their characters. They had both agreed to make the characters look like themselves. It was going to be the perfect play through after all. Why not put yourself in the game.

"Ah shit!", Kate mumbled.

"Please tell me you didn't change your mind about character class _now_."

"No, it's not that. Our Internet is being shitty. I was trying to find a good walkthrough so we don't miss anything."

"Oh well, let's just start the game and save. Then we can print off a walkthrough in the morning."

A look of disappointment came over her face. She had been looking forward to this for like two days. And in the world of Katelyn Jordan, two days was a long ass time. This was the **perfect** play through. The play through to end all play throughs. It simply had to wait until the morning.

Trey and Kate then played their way through the harrowing, and saved their game after speaking with Jowan.

Since they already had enough snacks to feed all of Rhode Island, Kate decided it was time to play another game. She turned off her PlayStation and announced, "I have an idea."

Now, the last time Kate looked this mischievous, she had stuck saran wrap to all the toilet bowls in the house. Much to Trey's displeasure, he had fallen for the prank. This time instead of saran wrap, Kate had plopped a Ouija board down on Trey's bed.

"Hell no."

"Dude, it will be fun."

"No. I am serious, get it out of here. Our mother would murder us."

"Trey, oh my God. Why didn't you tell me you had a vagina."

He simply crossed his arms at that. He wouldn't do it. He refused.

"I mean, because I have always wanted a little sister!", she teased.

He was still unmoved.

"Just put your hands on the glass thing. Maybe we can talk to Peep."

He didn't however, and Kate had to find a way to amuse herself with the game. First she started moving the glass in a circle. Then placed it in the middle of the board.

"Oh divine spirit! Tell me are you here?" She moved the glass to _yes _in the corner of the board.

"Spirit, if you are there you must prove your...um credibility. Please tell me what Trey does in his spare time."

She moved the glass wildly in her hands. "Hmm L-I-C", she chanted as she saw the letters under the glass.

"L-I-C-K-B-A-L-S. Now what does that spell. Oh wait maybe there is more than one letter. Perhaps two L's.", she teased. "Oh yes, Lick Balls. Now that does make sense!"

Trey let down his guard only slightly. He didn't like the thoughts of something like that in his room. But he knew the only way Kate would get rid of it is if he sucked it up and tried it once.

"Alright, I will try it one time. After that we get it out of here and watch a movie or something.", he settled.

They placed their hands on the glass. The glass started circulating around the board. It went through every letter and number. Trey was sure that Kate was moving the glass. But if she was, she still had a pretty good poker face on at the moment. The glass suddenly stopped on the letter F.

After a long pause the glass jerked to the letters-L-E-M. Suddenly, both hands lost control of the glass and it shot off the board and across the room.

"Shit, I guess Flem didn't want to play.", Kate laughed.

"Wait, how did you make it go across the room?", asked Trey.

"I thought you were doing that."

"Seriously this isn't funny."

"I'm serious! It wasn't me!"

Trey had to get out of the room. Kate may be able to calmly observe glass flying across a room, but he could not. He made his way into the living room and found a DVD to play. Surly a featured film would get his mind off flying discs. He grabbed a couple bottles of water and made his way back to the bedroom.

When he got there Kate had already put away that _game_ and start laying a sleeping bag on the floor. "Can I sleep in here tonight? Mom is using my bed to lay out her Christmas decorations."

"Yeah, I guess." He tried not to sound relieved, but in all actuality he was terrified of sleeping alone at this point.

"I can't believe you fell for that. I totally moved that glass ya know!" She thought her lie might have worked, but he still didn't seem too happy. She just shrugged it off as a bad mood and dug her body into the fluffy sleeping bag. What just happened? Who was Flem, and was he nice? She thought these things as her eyes closed into a cozy sleep. A short sleep.

She woke up to the sound of her brother screaming like a little girl in a pond full of frogs.

"Shit, shit, SHIT!", he chanted.

She looked down at a stone floor. Then what appeared to be her brother in dress. Then her eyes searched for her own attire.

"No. Fucking. Way.", she said through a smile that was growing from one ear to the next.

_*YAY second chapter :) I am so excited! Hopefully it won't be too long until the third one!_


	3. Starstruck

_Third chapter. Please review :)_

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**Starstruck**

"Thank you God! If you are there thank you, for you are totally awesome."

Trey rolled his eyes. How could she think _really_ being in the tower if magi was a good thing. This was a disaster. No. This was a catastrophe. It took them a long time to actually realize where they were. And even longer to accept it.

He paced back and forth from one end of the bed to the next. "What are we going to do?", he mumbled to himself.

"What do you mean? _What are we going to do?", _she scoffed, "This is it. The perfect playthrough. Our real life playthrough. Out of all of the people in this world, we are here. And we are going to play the hell out of this game!"

"This is no game Kate. We could get killed."

"Well, what are we going to do? Just sit here until the tower is taken over by blood mages and abominations?"

"I suppose you have a point."

"Alright, lets go find Irving!"

She nearly caused him to fall over when she grabbed the sleeve of his robes. She couldn't help it. This was the coolest thing ever. In minutes she would get to meet the real Duncan. Of course Trey had to find things to complain about. _We could get killed._ Really Trey? Way to ruin the vibe!

Trey finally spoke up, "I guess it is a good thing that we chose the same origin. Could you imagine if you decided to be a human noble?"

She hadn't really thought about it, nor did she want to. The thought of being alone, knowing everyone around you was going to die was a bit grim for her tastes. She shivered at the thought of being alone. No, best that Trey was here with her. This topic was a bit too serious for her. So, she ignored it until Trey spoke again.

"Sis?"

"Hmmm?"

"Did you have a weird dream too?"

"I barely had my eyes closed when I heard your manly screaming. Why? What did you dream?"

"I was in a place with purple and gold lighting all around me. There were these odd statues and buildings that hung from the ceiling." He paused for a long time. He shouldn't be telling her this. But finally he did, "Dad was there. And an odd woman, with long white hair. She was talking to him. Then she looked at me, and her face was so cold. It felt like she could see right through me."

Kate had stopped walking at this point. She gave him a sympathetic look. Kate was seven years old when she saw her father dead on a hospital bed. Trey was only three. She grew up answering questions about him, what little she could tell. Trey was always curious, which was quite understandable. This, however, was a little too much for her to think about.

"Trey, it was just a dream.", she said firmly, as she placed her hand on his shoulder.

They continued through the circular hallway, and in to Irving's office. Irving smiled brightly at the sight of the two.

"So, the Amell brother and sister are now Mages.", Irving chuckled, "I wondered when I would see this day."

"So, Irving, do you remember our full names? Because, you know, I think I could have some sort of amnesia from a fall in the fade."

Trey couldn't help but smack his hand on his head. At that moment, he decided, his sister was as subtle as a baboon.

Irving gave an odd look. Finally he said, "You, my dear, are Katelyn Rene Amell. And this is your brother Ronald Trey Amell. Are you quite alright my dear? What is an amnesia?"

Thankfully, Duncan entered the room before Irving could question them further.

"Duncan, my friend, it is good to see you."

"As it is to see you Irving."

The men caught up, as Trey admired how lethal Duncan looked. Duncan was one of the biggest men he had ever seen. He stood tall, with broad shoulders. Trey could tell that the man had seen quite a few battles by the look of the scars on his face. He was not a man you wanted to mess with. At the same time, he was gentle. With all of the manners of the Queen of England.

Trey was barely paying attention when Irving asked, "Katelyn, Ronald, could you please escort Duncan to his room?"

Trey simply nodded his head to indicate he would be more than willing.

The two walked in front of Duncan. They remained quiet as the walked to his room. But Trey could see the gleam in Kate's eyes. She was also starstruck.

They led him into his room. Then Duncan thanked them for their help.

"Wow, Duncan in real life!", Kate whispered.

Trey was about to reply, but was cut off by a familiar voice.

"I'm glad I caught up to you. Are you done talking with Irving?"


	4. Petrify?

_Hey! Sorry it took so long to get another chapter to you. I will probably be working on chpt 5 this weekend :)_

_Okay, this chapter isn't full of funnies, but it is pretty essential. _

_Also, I do not like to use direct quotes from Dragon Age often. The reason for this is, you have already played Dragon Age (maybe), it would be incredibly boring to read the same thing over and over. So yeah, not many direct quotes._

_In any case, I am in dire need of some feed back (hint hint hint winky winky)!_

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**Petrify?**

Trey was not happy. He was not happy at all.

After a heated debate with Kate (which may or may not have ended with him getting punched in the kidney) they decided to go along with the plot of the game and help Jowan and Lilly. To Trey's displeasure, Kate prohibited him from going to Irving with this news.

He knew that this was not going to be pretty.

"What are we going to do when it comes time for battle? We don't even know how to use magic.", Trey whispered to Kate.

"I suppose we will cross that bridge when we get there."

Awesome. No plan and no way out of the battle that was to come. Trey wondered if Kate even realized how dangerous this was.

Trey kept his eye on the sentinel as they approached the first door. He knew it would soon spring to life, as they walked closer and closer. He clutched his staff, not really knowing what to do with it. At least he could hit it with something large if it started to charge at him.

Jowan opened the door. As soon as he did, the sentinel swung his sword at the group. Jowan shot, what Trey believed to be, an arcane bolt at the sentinel. The magic was quite beautiful to behold. The burst was around the size of a basketball, and was bright and misty. He had never seen anything like it. Trey almost forgot he was in battle. That was until he saw Kate jump in front of the sentinel to bash it with a mace. He saw the sentinel quickly swing he massive sword at Kate.

Trey felt panic grip his body, then shut his eyes tightly. He felt a surge of energy swell up inside of him. Without a thought, Trey dropped his staff and reached out his hands. They instantly went numb. He could feel the energy coming from his body, and out of his hands. Finally, he opened his eyes to see a combination of wind and ice gushing from the palm of his hands. The sentinel was frozen where it stood.

"How did you do that?", Kate asked ignoring Jowan's presence.

"I don't know, I just _felt _it."

Of course if Trey knew how to use his magic, Kate would also learn. Refusing to be left out, Kate closed her eyes and tried to search for some sort of power within. She felt an odd tugging sensation within her stomach. She reached for her staff. As she touched her weapon, she could feel a vibration that shot from the pit of her stomach to her hands. This wave passed from her body and through her staff. She was amazed to see the bright bolts of lightning that emitted from the tip of her weapon.

The sentinel fell, leaving Kate and Trey feeling accomplished.

The four walked through the stone halls staying close together. Trey and Kate stayed far behind enough to talk to each other. As they encountered other enemies, Trey noticed that Kate often used a petrify spell. It was odd that she knew this spell since it was a high level ability. Trey wondered if he could use the same spell, but was disappointed when he couldn't. He would have to ask her about it later.

After fighting their way through many more sentinels, they finally reached Jowan's phylactery.

Kate was more than excited about this. She was tired of Jowan's whining and Lilly's mousy voice. But even more than this, she was ready to get out of the tower. She couldn't imagine being trapped in this large prison for more than one day. It was even harder to imagine living there her whole life, without running through the grass or feeling the rain.

Jowan smashed his phylactery. The relief that swept across his face was almost overwhelming. Suddenly, Kate felt very sad for Jowan. He spent his entire life living in this stone prison.

The four finally turned to the doors. When they exited Lilly and Jowan were terrified to see Gregoir and Irving waiting for them. Trey and Kate knew this would be coming, but Kate was still uneasy about what would happen. Her heart pounded out of her chest.

Everything happened too quickly for her to think. Jowan used blood magic to defend his group before you could say "ass chaps". Soon after, Gregoir had squeezed her arm tightly with his massive hand. "What have you done?" , he growled at her.

Luckily Trey was close by to defend their actions.

"We didn't know he was a blood mage ser.", Trey lied (well sort of).

Trey's nerves started to chill as he noticed that Duncan was no where to be seen. He could not keep his body from shaking. This could end in their deaths if they did not talk to Gregoir carefully.

However, a wave of relief hit his body when he saw Duncan walking toward the group. At this point, Duncan was Trey's personal savior.

Duncan spoke firmly to Gregoir, and insisted that both mages would be well suited to serve as Grey Wardens. For a moment, Trey thought that Gregoir was only going to allow him to become a Grey Warden, and make Kate stay. In the end, Duncan had the final say. He conscripted both of the siblings into the order of the Grey Wardens. Trey smiled to himself at the thought of being a real Grey Warden.

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The three of them traveled out of the tower. The sky was dark and full of stars.

"Tonight we will stay in the inn. Get plenty of rest. The trip to Ostagar will be two days long. I also suggest that you pick up any supplies that you need at the inn.", Duncan said, as he handed the siblings twenty silvers each.

Trey imagined that this was what it was like to have a dad, and suddenly had a strong urge to play catch with him. But, that would have to wait till later.

Kate and Trey walked into The Spoiled Princess and looked for the bar tender. They asked for a room and bought some food to take with them.

As they made their way up to the room, Trey remembered that he had a question for Kate.

"Sis, I was wondering. How did you learn how to use petrify so quickly? I tried and I could not perform the spell."

"Oh. That. Well, you have to promise you won't get mad, okay?"

"God damn it Kate. What did you do this time?"

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_Cliffhanger! Oh you are going to love it (I promise)!_

_Thank you for reading my mad creations. It makes me feel warm inside :)_


	5. God Mode

_All right guys, before anyone comments on it, I already know that there is no god-mode cheat for the PS3 (that I am aware of)._

_Thanks for reading!_

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**God Mode**

"You lied to me! What happened to this _perfect play through? _Why did you do it?"

"I know, I know. But I think my lying is the least of our worries. And besides, it will definitely be helpful when we get to kill darkspawn.", Kate explained.

She did have a point. Having extra spells and abilities would help them in the future. The main goal was to stay alive. This still didn't make Trey feel any better about their situation. Kate had cheated and lied to him. He knew it was silly to worry so much about it, but it really bothered him.

Trey tried to clear his mind of all thought as he crawled into bed. The bed was much less comfortable than he was used to. Then again, tomorrow night he would be sleeping on the hard ground. His eyes started to get heavy, and eventually he slept.

OOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

The next morning Trey woke up to the sound of Blue Oyster Cult.

_Come on baby. Don't fear the Reaper. Baby take my hand. Don't fear th-_

Kate crushed her iphone under the weight of her body, hoping to muffle the sound. Hopefully no one from outside heard the music, but it was too late to hide it from Trey.

"This whole time you have had your phone here? How did you get it?", Trey demanded.

"How am I supposed to know? I fell asleep with it in my hand in your room. It got here the same way we did."

"Fair enough, but put it away. We could get killed for something like that."

"Trey, quit being a drama queen.", Kate said rolling her eyes.

"No, I am serious. The people here don't understand this kind of technology. They could think it is some sort of evil magic artifact thingy."

"Yes sir."

"Why did it go off anyway? Surely you don't get service here?"

"No, I must have accidentally sat an alarm."

Kate and Trey made their way down stairs, meeting Duncan at one of the tables by the bar. The three of them ate and gathered supplies for their journey. On the way to Ostagar, Duncan mostly kept to himself and cooked for them at night. They were surprised at how laid back Duncan was. At night he would tell them stories of some the battles he had been in.

Trey used any spare time during their travels to learn new spells from Kate. He was shocked at how quickly he was learning the spells. It still felt weird to him when he used magic. He could tell when he was running low on mana because his body would feel drained of energy. Trey didn't use enough magic to be completely drained of mana for fear of how weak it could make him.

They also spent their time formulating a plan to find a way out of this world. They both agreed that they needed to stay as true to the game as possible until they found out more about why they were there. This means they would have to watch what they said, making sure they used most of the diaglogue options when they could. Sadly, they also could not warn Duncan of Loghain's retreat from Ostagar. To do so was to risky, it could mean never returning home.

After two days of walking and sleeping the cold tents, the three of them made it to Ostagar. Kate's eyes became large with excitement. She stared into the sky at the Tower of Ishal wondering just how they managed to build a tower so large.

"It's fucking huge!", Kate chirped.

To which Trey informed, "That's what she said."


	6. Alistair

_This one is Alistair's POV. You finally find out what Trey and Kate look like 8)_

_Oh Alistair, I love you…too bad Kate doesn't *sigh_

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**Alistair**

Maker help him, if he didn't find this mage soon he was going to kick something. It was bad enough that he had to send the message, but now he was going to miss lunch because of it. Alistair scanned over the mages tents to search for the mage. He would have asked a templar a long time ago if he hadn't forgotten the mage's name. And he would not be asking the revered mother for it. Thankfully, he had seen the mage once before speaking with Duncan.

_Blast it._ He walked up the large ramp that led to the old temple. Perhaps he could search for him at a higher vantage point. As he made his way up the ramp, he saw an older man walking toward him.

"What is it now? Haven't Grey Wardens asked more than enough of the Circle?"

_What luck, _he thought.

"I simply came to deliver a message from the revered mother, ser mage. She desires your presence.", he tried to sound as polite as possible.

"What she _desires_ is of no concern to me! I am busy helping the Grey Wardens by the kings orders, I might add!"

_I really missed lunch for this_, "Should I have asked her to write a note?"

"Tell her I will not be harassed in this manner."

"Yes, I was harassing _you_ by delivering a message.", Alistair blurted before thinking.

"Your glibness does you no credit."

"Here I thought we were getting along so well. I was even going to name one of my children after you…the grumpy one."

"Enough! I will speak to the woman if I must."

_Well that went well._

"Out of my way fool!"

Alistair's head shot forward to find the mage's new target. He saw a boy who looked to be around eighteen years old. Though young, the boy still stood nearly a foot taller than Alistair. His skin was pale and looked to be smooth. Alistair doubted that he had seen much battle before. The boys hair was dark, almost ebony. It was cut short, yet it was long enough for Alistair to see that he had curly hair. From the looks of his attire, Alistair could tell he was a mage.

The young man's eyes met Alistair's. Alistair saw an odd look come across his face.

"You know, one good thing about the blight is how it brings people together.", Alistair said trying to make conversation.

"I know what you mean.", a woman said as she pushed her way in front of the boy.

For a moment Alistair was speechless. The lady had taken him completely by surprise. And _Maker_ she was something to behold. She was quite a bit shorter than the man in front of him. Her face donned a beautiful beaming smile. Her face was lovely, with full pink lips, a cute little nose, and big grey eyes. Her auburn locks hit her waist and shined in the sun.

She cocked an eyebrow at him when he didn't respond quickly.

_Say something! _"Uh - It's like a party, we could all stand in a circle and hold hands." _Stupid, stupid, stupid!_

_Wait a minute,_ "Your Duncan's new recruits from the circle of magi. I should have recognized you right away. I apologize."

"No offense taken.", the young man spoke up.

"Good. You didn't exactly catch me at my finest.", Alistair admitted.

"You must be Alistair.", the beautiful woman chirped. Alistair's heart fluttered at the sound of his name coming from her lips.

"Oh, did Duncan mention me. Sorry, but I can't say that I remember your names."

"Um, my name is Trey, and this is my sister Kate.", Trey informed him.

"Pleased to meet you. As the junior member of the order, I'll be accompanying you when you prepare for the joining."

"We look forward to traveling with you.", Trey politely added.

The three of them walked through Ostagar looking for the other recruits Duncan had picked up. Daveth was the first to be found. He was shamelessly drooling over a pretty blonde woman. The woman was obviously not amused by his comments and left when they approached him. Alistair instructed Daveth to meet with Duncan and wait for them there.

As they walked through the camp, the brother and sister seemed in awe of their surroundings. This didn't surprise Alistair. Most circle mages had little to no exposure of the outside world. Alistair tried to think of some sort of conversation he could make with them. The only thing that came to mind was, "You know, it just occurred to me that there have never been many women in the Grey Wardens. I wonder why that is?"

Kate was still admiring the surroundings until Trey nudged her arm. "What? Oh yeah. You want more women in the Grey Wardens do you?", she seemed to say it more than ask.

"Would that be so terrible?" _Fail._

After finding Jory, they made their way back to get instructions from Duncan. Then the four of them headed toward the wilds.

"Best keep together in these woods.", Daveth suggested.

"You watch my back and I will watch yours.", Kate smiled.

"Oh - I'll watch your back.", he said while giving Kate a wink.

_Drooling lecher!_

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_Hope you enjoyed! Please review. _


	7. The Sniffles

_Hey Guys! Thank you so much for following this story._

_Just in case you were wondering, the character Kate was modeled after the humor of comedian Kaitlin Olson. If you don't know of this hillarious woman you can find her on youtube :)_

_I am in dire need of some feedback for this story. I am unsure if I should continue with it or not. Please let me know your thoughts._

_Also, I am a giant noob and need help with grammar (because I suck at it). So if you are a veteran help a girl out :)_

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**The Sniffles**

Kate was a pretty girl. Trey knew this and had become accustomed to men hitting on his sister from time to time. At the moment, however, he thought he might have to strangle Daveth and Alistair. From the moment they met, Trey had to endure Daveth's lewd comments and Alistair's obvious scamming.

Trey lead the group into the wilds. Upon entering, Trey scanned the area for the wolves he knew would come. He spotted them in the distance, and tried to think of a sneak attack. Before he could follow through with the plan he saw Kate running toward them shouting, "Leeeeroooy JENKINS!" Then she swung her staff around the animals as they snapped at her. Her staff was emitting a cold wind and chips of ice. The wolves were frozen still. She lifted her arms high in the air then quickly pushed them down. An invisible force fell down on wolves shattering them to pieces.

_So much for that sneak attack._

"Does that happen often?", Alistair stuttered.

Trey looked over at Alistair, who's mouth was gaped open, then sighed, "More than you know."

"_Right._ Let's move on then."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"You're some kind of sneaky..witch thief!"

"How very eloquent. How does one steal from dead men?"

"Quite easily it seems."

Alistair and Morrigan quarreled until Trey finally interjected, "If you didn't take them, then who did?"

"Twas my mother in fact."

"Can you take us to her?"

"Now that is a sensible request. However, I cannot."

"What? You don't say that!", Kate interjected.

"Excuse me?", Morrigan scoffed.

"You take us to your mother!"

"I cannot, for I know not where she is. I will, however, take you to your precious treaties.", Morrigan said as she was beginning to become frustrated with Kate.

As they walked through the trees and the brush, Kate and Trey fell behind the group.

"What now?", Kate whispered through gritted teeth.

"I don't know. Flemeth is the whole reason that we survive the tower. We need some sort of plan.", Trey suggested.

"No way. We need to tell Duncan that Loghain plans to withdraw."

"Yeah, and why would he believe us exactly?"

"We have to do something!"

"Don't worry, we will get through this.", Trey told his sister in an attempt to calm both of them.

Kate did not like the thoughts of her _would be _rescuer being AWOL. _Where is Flemeth? Why doesn't Morrigan know where she is? _She couldn't keep her mind off of it, but tried not to let Trey see it. He had just started to calm down about the whole situation. If she let it slip that she was a little apprehensive, he would freak out.

"Oh, GOD DAMN! What are you doing woman?"

Kate snapped her head forward. She turned to see her brother standing as straight as possible. The look on his face was a mix between confusion and terror. Morrigan was circling him with her face to his clothes. She seemed to be sniffing all around him. Kate thought it was, perhaps, the funniest thing she had seen since she had been in Ferelden. Loud laughs cracked from her throat as she nearly fell to the ground.

Then Kate giggled, "Is this how you say _hello _where you're from?"

Alistair simply shook his head, "Better him than me.", he decided.

Morrigan finally looked up at her victim, "Who are you?", she asked, "Where are you from? Why are you here?"

"I don't know what you are talking about."

"Truly? You have a smell about you."

"Umm - I assumed that may be why you are sniffing.", he blushed.

Morrigan stepped in closer to Kate. "I smell it on you too.", she informed her.

"Whoa, whoa. No touches. Keep that nose to yo' self!"

Kate hadn't realized that they finally made it to the hut. Morrigan went inside of the hut and beckoned Trey follow. The rest of the group had to wait outside. From her peripheral vision, Kate could see Alistair gawking at her. _Ugh, I guess I will be setting boundaries after Ostagar_, she thought to herself. Not that she didn't think Alistair was a cool guy, she did. He was funny and obviously had good taste in women. But she was simply not interested.

After around fifteen minutes of waiting, Trey finally exited the hut with the treaties. The five started out of the wilds. Kate pulled Trey to the side and asked, "What the hell man? Was Flemeth in there?"

"No."

"Well, what did she want then?"

"She knows that we're from Earth."

"Really? Then she knows how we can get back?"

"If she did, then she didn't tell me."

"Hmm, what _did_ she say then?", Kate inquired.

"I told her what happened before we got here. She believes the woman in my dream was Flemeth. Apparently, Morrigan fought her because she found out about the whole possession thing. Morrigan thinks that she may be trying to find a new host and brought us here thinking we would be easy prey."

Kate thought about it for a moment, "What about the tower? How are we supposed to get out of there alive?"

"I don't know. Morrigan said she would keep a close eye on us. Hopefully she can help."

Kate didn't like leaving her fate to a woman who randomly sniffed people. But she finally resolved that: _you gotta do, what you gotta do._

When they finally got back to camp, Trey separated from the group to help the kennel master with the dog. He figured they would need as much help as they could, if they survived Ostagar that was.

Daveth and Ser Jory went to their own tents to prepare themselves for the joining, while Kate followed Alistair to find food. There were people everywhere, so Alistair wrapped up some food from the army's supplies Kate and Alistair found a corner of the camp to sit down. As Kate unwrapped her food, the small bit of fruit she had been given fell to the ground and was mashed under trampling feet.

"Piss! Oh well.", she sighed.

Alistair blushed, "I have never heard a woman use so many _colorful_ words."

"Well that's what the world needs isn't it? A bit of color.", she said punching him on the shoulder. She quickly regretted that decision (as he was wearing armor).

"Excuse me.", came another voice to their left. It was a man that Kate immediately recognized. It was the man caged and accused of deserting. She knew what was coming next.

"Did you need something?", Alistair asked politely.

"They have stuck me in this cage without any food or water. I haven't eaten in days. Could you find it in your heart to spare me some food."

Kate hated her conscience. She stared at her bread, then at the man, then at her bread, and at the man again. Finally, she raised her body from the ground and walked to the cage. She lifted the bread to the man, "Here you go ser."

"Bless you lady. Here take this, I believe it opens the mage's supplies chest."

"Umm - Thanks.", Kate stuttered as she pinched the key between her two fingers. She remembered the key's history, so she quickly tossed it in her pocket.

When she turned around she saw Alistair with a goofy grin from ear to ear.

"Why do you look so smug?", she asked.

"Oh nothing.", he smiled.

"For heaven's sake, what is it?"

"That was just very nice of you.", he gushed.

"_Right_. Well, I have to go get ready for the joining now. So, yeah."

Kate walked away as fast as she could then groaned, "Damn it!"

"What is it?", Trey asked.

"Never mind, you ready for this?"

"Lets go get Wardenified!"

* * *

_Kate - "REVIEW" (clinched fist)_

_Trey - "Please" (puppy eyes)_

_Alistair - "Cheese?" (confused face)_


	8. Catnip

_Thank you so much for your wonderful comments._

_It really helped to hear some feedback. It got weird not knowing people's thoughts. So thank you again!_

_harpychick - my brother and I also have similar interactions. There is nothing like brother/sister banter._

_Trust me when I tell you that I have thought about all of this before hand. There is a reason that Flemeth is gone. So yeah, there will be differences._

_As far as updates go, I don't have a schedule yet. But I will let you know when I do._

* * *

_**Catnip **_

The four newest Grey Wardens were standing near the old temple, waiting for Duncan to start their joining. Jory and Daveth were nervously chatting and wondering what the joining would entail. Trey, however, already knew that answer.

It had been bothering him for a while now. In game, there was only one hero. One Warden. He didn't like the thought of dying in a place like this. His sister would be traveling alone with Alistair drooling after her._ Eww._ Then there was the alternative…no. He wouldn't think about that.

Trey could see Duncan walking toward them from the corner of his eye. Duncan had chalice gripped in his hands, already full of blood. After explaining the joining ritual, Daveth and Jory started nervously shuffling about.

Daveth was the first to drink. Kate gave him a sad and knowing look, then turned her face to look away. She had seen death once in her life, and had never been able to shake the image from her mind. Then she heard Duncan say, "Welcome, Daveth, you are now a brother of the Grey Wardens."

She turned around to see Daveth passed out on the ground. Her heart jumped. She hadn't even considered the fact that she might not survive the joining. Trey looked just as shocked. Kate wondered if he was thinking the same thing.

Jory lifted the chalice up to his lips (something they had never seen). His eyes became wide, his neck turned an odd shade of dark red, and Kate could hear his breath fighting to enter his lungs. Jory scraped his fingernails down his neck. Kate gasped with horror, and a firm hand touched her back. Jory deeply exhaled, then fell limp onto the ground.

"I'm sorry Jory, you will be remembered.", then Duncan faced Trey and Kate.

Trey motioned for Kate to go first. "Chivalrous", Kate mumbled as she rolled her eyes.

"It's just I - I have to know that _you_ are okay first.", Trey confessed.

Kate squeezed her brother's arm affectionately, then turned to face her fate. She grasped the chalice between her hands. She lifted the chalice to her mouth and saw the three men in front of her tense up. She quickly put the chalice down and grinned. After tricking them two more times, her brother finally shouted, "Katelyn!"

Finally she took a gulp of the sticky blood. It's taste was strong in her mouth, and she felt her throat burn from the liquid. She heard a strange, buzzing, sound ringing in her ear. Everything around her turned a deeper and darker shade. Suddenly, everything was black.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Trey woke up with too many faces looking down at him. Not to mention he had a headache from hell. He looked around but could not see Jory's body, which relieved him a bit. After being pulled to his feet, his sister gave a hug that squeezed the breath out of him. They toppled to the ground.

"We're Wardens! And we're ALIVE!", Kate shouted with glee.

Trey could hear Duncan chuckling ahead of them. "Once you are finished celebrating, the four of you need to follow the corridor and meet me there. We are going to have a short meeting with the King."

"I thought I would be joining the rest of the Wardens.", Alistair complained.

"This is an order from the King, I'm afraid. And besides, I assumed you would want to keep a close eye on the newest Wardens.", Duncan grinned. Alistair's face turned scarlet.

Trey and Kate were still to busy "celebrating" with knuckle bumps and bad dancing to take much notice.

The crew made their way down the ramp and to the long table at the end of the corridor. The King seemed thrilled about the opportunity to go to war, which Trey thought was stupid. _Who wants to see people dying all around them? Oh yeah, this idiot._

Kate could see that Alistair looked a bit uncomfortable being around the King. He was especially awkward when Cailan started talking to the four of them about lighting the beacon. She reached over and gave his hand a small squeeze, hoping to comfort him a bit. It was a habit that she had picked up from her mother.

It was then that she saw a different kind of look come across Alistair's face. _Oh great, _she thought, _He probably thinks we are married now._ Then she quickly crossed her arms.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Alistair, Daveth, Trey, and Kate made their way across the bridge and to the Tower of Ishal. Peering over the ledge, Trey could see the men attacking the darkspawn horde. It was a frightening thing to see. The darkspawn seemed to be in a frenzy as they bit and snarled at the men around them.

Trey knew the tower would be overrun with darkspawn before he got there. But he had no idea that there would be this many surrounding the tower. A man stopped them before entering, the tower, "They are coming from the hills! They are flanking the Wardens! I need help finding Loghain's troops."

Daveth nodded and ran off with the man before Trey could stop him. Trey turned to face the wave of darkspawn that were upon them. Trey was reluctant to leave without Daveth, but waiting here would get them killed.

Deciding that they could not waste time killing all of the darkspawn surrounding the tower, Alistair only took down the darkspawn that were in their way. He led the mages safely into the tower.

Once inside, Trey saw a large group of genlock huddling together. "If we stay close to the wall they won't be able to see us. Then we can get to the stairs without-"

But Trey's words were cut off by the sound of Katy Perry belting out, "_I'll never be the same - If we ever meet again" _

Alistair nearly jumped out of his skin upon hearing the song. But he wasn't the only one who heard it. Nearly thirteen genlock all turned their heads toward Kate and started to charge. Trey quickly cast protective spells around Kate.

The genlock charged past Trey and Alistair, not seeming to notice them. They clawed and scratched around the barrier that Trey had created around Kate. Kate simply shrugged her shoulders as she held out her phone.

Trey kept casting protective spells around his sister as Alistair cut through the crowd of darkspawn with his sword. Even as Alistair was killing the genlock, they stayed unwaveringly focused on Kate's phone. It was like catnip, where the nip was Katy Perry and the cats were freaky little green things. Trey amused himself with the thought of this being a pluralism on societies obsession with pop icons. But quickly pushed that thought aside, because he fucking hated metaphors.

After completely annihilating the darkspawn Alistair asked, "What, in the Makers name, is that _thing_!" Alistair stared at the phone as if it might bite him.

Busted.

Kate started to explain, "It is a unique rune. That, um, distracts your enemies. See how well it worked." She put on her biggest, fakest smile.

"I thought I told you to get rid of that thing, sister!", Trey said through gritted teeth.

"Nah, you just said to put it away.", she reminded him.

The gang continued through the rest of the tower, trying to reach the beacon as quickly as possible. Each floor they used the same technique. Kate would startle the darkspawn, causing them to become entranced with her device. Trey would cast protective spells around Kate. Then Alistair would smash them all to bits. Sometimes, Kate would heal those that needed it. It was a good strategy…that is until they ran out of mana.

Trey's eyes burned and his body ached. He could feel himself grow weak. His mana had been drained so quickly.

"Lyrium, I need lyrium."

"We haven't been grabbing any.", Kate replied.

"Why didn't we buy any?"

"Oh snap! I forgot to get the loot from the mage's chest!", Kate was saying as she pulled the key from her pocket.

"At least we are on the last floor.", after hearing himself say it, Trey thought about his words. _The last floor._ Kate and Trey looked at each other.

Ah shit…

* * *

_Will update soon!_

_I was super close to calling this chapter "Trey and Kate plus Chapter 8" _

_But I'm pretty sure if Kate was real she would punch me in the throat. lol_


	9. Big Bird!

_Ugh! I have been taking the Praxis all day long. _

_Thank you for staying with me so far, I have a feeling this is the make it or break it chapter. Here is to hoping I made it :)_

_

* * *

_

**Big Bird!**

"Come on, we need to light that beacon!", Alistair summoned them with the conviction of a hero of legend. The mages reluctantly made their way up the steps, knowing what awaited them.

Trey had seen ogres before, in game of course. They were a bit larger than your character, they were always picking you up, and were relatively easy to kill once you got used to them. This, however, was not the case in real life. Upon seeing the ogre, Trey felt like he may have a heart attack.

It was a large, dark creature. It's arms were massive enough to easily crush anything in it's sight. The ogre snarled at them and raked it's twisted horns across the stone wall as if to taunt them. The small toy that was dangling from the ogre's fingers was once a man. But the ogre had found new toys now.

Alistair ran at the beast, slicing at it's heels and dodging attacks. With no mana, there was no way of helping or healing Alistair. So the mages started throwing things at it, trying to keep it's attention while Alistair issued more deadly blows.

The ogre looked from one person to the next, not knowing where to move.

"I think we've got him!", Trey exclaimed.

The ogre's confusion didn't last long. Though the ogre wasn't very bright, it was smart enough to know which little creature was hurting him the most. Soon enough, the ogre concentrated all of it's attacks on Alistair. It lifted it's large arms high into the air, then quickly pounded them against the ground. Alistair's sword flew out of his hands and he fell against the stone floor. The ogre lifted him up in his massive hands and shook him. But Alistair laid limp against the ogre's fingers.

Trey found Alistair's sword and swung it at the beast's giant legs in an attempt to save his brother Warden. The ogre dropped Alistair on the ground when he saw that he was no longer moving. Then it quickly peered at Trey. The same hand that was holding Alistair, was now scooping Trey up into the air. He swung Alistair's sword against the ogre's arms, barely scratching the creature.

It was at this point that Trey started reflecting on his life. There were so many things that he hadn't achieved. For instance, he had never flown on an airplane, or made it to Inheritor on Halo Reach, or kissed a beautiful girl (Well there was Patty Flynn, but it was Patty Flynn).

Just as Trey was thinking about all the countries he had never seen, he heard the voice of his sister crying out, "Return of the Jedi! You're Luke fighting the Rancor!"

"Oh yeah!", Trey remembered. Then he shoved the sword into the ogre's mouth and turned it upright. The ogre dropped Trey to the ground and grabbed for it's mouth. The sword was wedged between the roof of the ogre's mouth and the bottom of it's jaw. With it's mouth pried open, the ogre started flailing about. Then it closed it's enormous jaw, shoving the sword deep into it's skull. It's body fell to the floor, nearly crushing Trey. The stupidity of the beast had saved their lives.

Kate threw a flame into the chamber to light the beacon, then quickly gazed out the window. Trey searched the barrels and crates around him for lyrium. He needed to heal Alistair quickly.

"It's Loghain!", Kate cried with glee.

"Would you help me? He's going to die if we don't heal him!"

"Loghain! He's charging at the hoard!"

But Trey didn't have time to look, because at that very moment something crashed into the side of the tower, throwing large stones all over the floor. Kate quickly found Alistair's shield and tried to protect him from the falling rubble. After all went quiet she peeked over the shield.

Kate couldn't believe what she was seeing. Standing inside of the tower was a hawk the size of a house. It's wings were shaking, causing it's beautiful, chocolate brown feathers to dance. If she didn't think that the thing might kill her soon, she would say it was one of the most beautiful animals she had ever seen.

The bird ducked it's head down staring Trey and Kate with it's large, golden eyes.

"Morrigan?", Trey gasped.

The hawk closed it's eyes, nodding it's head as if to respond to him. Then she raised her wings high into the air and lifted her self from the ground. She hovered above the three of them and scooped Trey and Kate into her large talons.

"Grab him!", Kate ordered. The mages held on to Alistair tightly as they flew over the Tower of Ishal.

Alistair, was no puppy. The already large man was wearing splint mail armor. Holding him was no easy task. But the mages held on to their brother Warden for dear life.

Once facing the battlefield, the newest Wardens could see that the battle was not going as well as expected. Trey searched for familiar faces and found Duncan and Cailan's bodies near each other. Trey felt pain for the loss of his savior, and guilty that he didn't make time to get to know Duncan that well.

Even after Loghain had decided to charge into the hoard with his men, most of them were being pummeled by waves of darkspawn. Kate found Loghain's large metal armor in the battlefield. He was encircled by darkspawn and separated from the rest of his men. Kate could see him swinging his large sword to cut through band of monsters. But it was to no avail. Loghain was over run by the fiends, the Hero of the River Dane was dead. Upon their General's death, a shrill voice yelled, "Retreat!"

Ser Cauthrien was ordering the men to save themselves. _But what would that do? Wouldn't the darkspawn follow them?_

On the oposite side of the field, a group of nearly twenty Grey Wardens were retreating East of Ostagar. Seeing the small group gave them a small ounce of hope.

They may not be alone in this after all.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Morrigan placed the three Wardens on the ground. She landed by her small hut and immediately shifted back into her human form. Then, she quickly retreated to her hut and came back out with lyrium potions and salves. She tossed the lyrium to Trey and Kate who quickly guzzled the blue liquid down. And though it may have looked like kool aid, it's taste was comparable to bio salud.

With three mages, healing Alistair was quick work. Trey and Kate were casting healing spells. Morrigan was busy using salves and dressing his wounds. Occasionally she would huff, mumble, and roll her eyes. Yet, she continued to help and even let Alistair rest in her bed.

"I can't believe he charged at them. What is going on here?", Trey questioned.

"I'm surprised too. He was hard to talk some sense into.", Kate sighed.

"What? Tell me your joking."

"Joking about what?"

"You talked Loghain into charging? But - but how? Why?"

"Ugh! Basically I told him it was beneath him to do something like that and went on about honor and all that crap. As for the why, I did it to save our ass!"

"You have completely altered the game! How could you do this? What were you thinking?"

"Oh! OOOOH! Excuse me for saving a shit ton of people back there and possibly making this easier for us. I know, I know. I'm the worst person in the world. Maybe, just maybe, one day you and all of the rest of the people out there will forgive me."

"Now we have no clue what is going to happen. The ball was in our court! And why didn't you tell me? How could you do that and not tell me?"

"Listen, I apologize for not telling you. But I cannot and will not apologize for doing what I did. It was the right thing to do."

Trey put his head down, "I know. But, what if we never get back home?"

"We'll cross that bridge when we get there."

If he had a dollar for every time he hear her say that, Trey would probably buy a new car.

"If you two are quite finished, perhaps we can discuss our strategy for escaping these woods.", Morrigan scolded them.

"You know this place better than we do.", Trey stated.

"This is quite true. May I suggest heading-"

"North to Lothering?", Kate cut her off.

"Should I expect this from you every time I speak?", Morrigan leered at her.

"Probably, yes."

"Oh! Good to know.", she shot back sarcastically.

They hadn't seen Alistair stumble out of the hut, but heard him complain, "Ugh. My head. What happened?"

* * *

_I refuse to make anymore chapters where Alistair is beaten to a pulp. It makes me too sad. Next update should be this wednesday!_


	10. Be Prepared

_This chapter is all about Howe (evil laugh)_

_I named this chapter for the Lion King song because Howe so remind me of Scar. The whole time I was writing this, I was listening to the song._

_You have to love a really great bad guy!_

_But don't worry, there will be more Trey, Kate, and Alistair very soon :)_

_

* * *

_

**Be Prepared**

Queen Anora Therin. Fatherless, widowed, and abandoned. Anora had been reflecting on many things recently.

The first thing she had to consider was the fact that she had not conceived a child since her marriage to Cailan. This was the subject of most of Anora and her late husband's spats. The Queen had always seen herself as, one day, becoming a proud mother. Sadly, this plan had never come to fruition. Her husband's body was now in a cold sea of dead men.

And then there was talk of treachery amongst the so called "loyal". According to Arl Howe, The Couslands had betrayed the crown by working with the Orlesian Empress. Something the Queen had never expected.

But believing all of this had been easier then the death of her father. She was alone, abandoned, and had no family left in the world.

Anora's arms were sprawled against the stone wall that protected her from plummeting over the large tower in the castle. _Not very Queenly_, she thought.

"Your Majesty, the nobles expect you to address the Landsmeet soon. Should I send word that there will be a delay?", the young elf asked upon arrival.

"Not at all." Anora said between sniffling and dabbing her tears, "I must show that I am still of _some _worth."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"This has gone better then we planned, my friend.", Rendon amused himself with the thoughts of his scheme. The _friend_ that he was talking to was a dark skinned young man who was wearing traditional mage's garb. The mage was inspecting a large wooden disc in the corner of the room.

Despite the mage's obvious disinterest, Arl Howe continued, "I must say though, I thought for sure I had Loghain eating out of the palm of my hand. His loss, I suppose." The Arl laughed wickedly at the thought.

When the mage didn't reply, Howe errupted, "Aren't you listening Elgrin?"

The mage simply grunted and returned to his wooden disc.

The Arl took the grunt as a yes, and went on with his rant, "At first, the possibility of becoming a Teyrn was enough to satisfy me. But if I could be King." He trailed off into his own thought and leaned back into his seat.

The Arl's sinful smile disappeared when Elgrin finally spoke, "I think you are forgetting something."

"The Queen? Ha, she should be quick work for the Antivans!", Rendon snorted.

"And,"

"_And?_"

"Maric's bastard, he has escaped the battlefield.", the mage said as he lifted the wooden disc into the air. The disc was levitating above the ground. Then he used his finger to draw a circle in the air. His finger emitted an odd black mist, so that there was a large black ring in the air. Elgrin placed the blade of a dagger in his hand and quickly sliced into his skin, allowing his blood to smear on the levitating disc. Then he clutched the black ring with his other hand.

Within the ring, Rendon saw four young people traveling. He had never met any of them in his life, but he knew right away which child had been Maric's. He looked just like him. Though he couldn't remember the boy's name, he _did_ remember that he had been recruited into the Grey Wardens. No small feat.

"Great, now I will have to pay to kill a Queen and a Warden. What assassin would be willing to kill a Grey Warden?"

"Perhaps, there is another way. The Queen knows nothing of the battle at Ostagar. How is it that these _Wardens_ survived and not her warrior father?", the mage asked rhetorically.

"I _see_. As far as she knows, these Grey Wardens abandoned Teyrn Loghain and left him for dead."

"Precisely. With two potential heirs to the throne assassinated, the nobles could become suspicious of you. Let _Anora_ take care of the bastard. Then our dear Queen will tragically die at the hands of foreign assassins."

Rendon mulled it over in his mind, "Okay, new plan. Frame the Wardens, kill the Queen, and take the Crown."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Your Majesty, the nobles expect you to address the Landsmeet soon. Should I send word that there will be a delay?", the young elf asked upon arrival.

"Not at all." Anora said between sniffling and dabbing her tears, "I must show that I am still of _some _worth."

She then heard a deep voice speak, "Excuse me, your Majesty, may I have a private word with you?"

Anora looked up to see the Arl, Rendon Howe, at her door. She remembered fearing him as a young girl. He had never been the friendly sort. But in the past few days, he had proven himself a loyal friend.

"Of course my Lord.", she nodded at her messenger to take his leave.

"Your Majesty, I bring upsetting news."

* * *

_BWAH HA HA HA HA _

_BE PREPARED!_


	11. Enchantment?

_Okay back to Trey and Kate. I probably won't get to add another chapter until next Thursday or Friday. _

_As I was writing this, I noticed I really miss writing the battle scenes. Which is funny, since originally I was going to only write camp scenes._

_Anyway, thanks for reading. Don't forget to review._

* * *

**Enchantment?**

At first it was bad. Real bad. Alistair had not taken Duncan's death well at all. It was unsettling to see how shaken he was by the news. Then Trey and Kate had to explain that they were not from Ferelden, or even from his world. Trey could see the disbelief in his eyes, but Alistair didn't argue with them. He seemed empty.

Kate was constantly trying to preoccupy him by telling jokes and asking him questions about being a Warden. Of course, she already knew pretty much everything there was to know about the subject (probably more than Alistair). Trey knew it was her weakness. She had always been very nurturing, if a little rough around the edges. He was thankful, nevertheless, that she had been willing to lift his spirits. Even though Alistair had been pining over the girl since he saw her. Little by little, Trey could see Alistair starting to cheer up.

Morrigan kept to herself, and quietly lead the Wardens to the small town. Trey stayed by her side to find out more about what she knew.

"How do you think we got here?", Trey inquired.

"I told you, I do not know the method that has been used to extract you from your home. I am, however, certain that it was Flemeth's doing.", Morrigan answered decidedly.

"How do you even know of our world?"

"Tis common knowledge that we live in a universe that has many worlds. If you are specifically wondering about my knowledge of your Earth, you can attribute _that_ knowledge to my mother. Her arduous studies of the planet, have supplied me with enough information to easily determine your true origins."

"How so? You can't tell me you knew where I came from, simply by smell."

"Your smell, demeanor, accent", she continued with her list, "Then, I noticed the curious device that your sister had been playing with."

"I swear I'm going to break that thing!", he huffed, "But I was wondering something else. How was it that Irving and Jowan, or anyone from the tower, knew who we were?"

Morrigan pondered on this for a moment, "Honestly, I do not know. Perhaps Flemeth wanted to make you feel comfortable enough to explore the world. Maybe she cast some sort of spell that twists their memory. Tis not unheard of. Mother once did the same thing when a clan of Dalish Elves stumbled upon our home."

Trey opened his mouth to speak before someone else did.

"Oh. My. God!", Kate shouted cheerfully.

When Trey turned around he saw a large hound. It's light brown fur nearly glistened in the sun and it's body was enormous. The thing that Trey found most curious was it's odd resemblance to their deceased dog, Peep.

Kate could see it too, and proudly named the dog, "Peep Two."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

As they approached Lothering, Trey had expected there to be a band of robbers at it's entrance. To his surprise, none were to be found. They made their way to the bottom of the stone ramp. The town was, for the most part, deserted. Most of the people that _were_ there, were gathering their things in preparation to leave.

"Wow, where is everyone?", Trey gasped.

"I suspect they are fleeing the darkspawn. Tis merely a _speculation._", Morrigan replied, though Trey was pretty sure she wasn't _merely speculating_.

The group headed into the village. As they passed through, a templar stopped them.

"You will want to leave this place soon. Ser Cauthrien's army passed through here. The darkspawn will be in this town any day."

"And what of the Wardens? Were any Grey Wardens traveling with them?" Alistair hopefully asked.

"None that I know of, but it was too quick to know. All I know, is that it isn't safe here. You should pick up what you need and leave."

Alistair nodded to the templar and they moved on.

No one spoke to them as they passed through the small town. That is, until they heard a familiar Orlesian accent, "If I don't let you out of there, you are going to die!"

They found the woman standing in front of a cage with her fists resting on her hips. Leliana did not look amused by the Qunari's emotionless gaze.

Sten huffed at her, "Leave me to my fate."

"Hold up partner", Kate interrupted the quarrel, "Waiting here and _dying_? Now that can get pretty messy. Seeing that we are _Wardens_ and all, we could use help from someone like you."

She emphasized the word Warden. Kate knew what the key word was for both Sten and Leliana. She knew that Sten needed to research the blight. Leliana thought that some Maker guy wanted her to go with them. Which was fine with Kate, as long as she didn't start asking her to pray, read anything, or wear any sort of sacred underwear.

"My people have heard legend of the Grey Warden's strength and skill, though I suppose not every legend is true."

Kate snatched the keys out of Leliana's hands. "I am strong enough to hold the key, which opens the cage, that keeps you captive.", Kate snapped.

If she had been watching more closely, Kate would have seen the very small smile come across Sten's face. She had, unknowingly, gained the Qunari's approval.

Sten simply nodded to signify that he would accompany them. Kate unlocked the cage and stepped back as the giant stepped out. His neck and back ached from standing in one position.

Without even asking, Leliana also followed the Grey Wardens through the town.

The growing group of travelers searched Lothering for food and supplies. Little was to be found. Kate found a pretty purple rug with light blue embellishments in it's corners. Morrigan rolled her eyes when she saw Kate place the rug inside of her backpack, but did not say anything.

They were just about to leave the town when Trey heard a word. It only took one word to know who's lips they were coming from.

"Enchantment?"

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

At camp, Trey, Alistair, and Kate had a long talk about where they would be going first. The talk was too long and too serious for Kate to be interested. She told them that they could be in charge of the game plan and returned to her tent. Inside of her backpack she pulled out some of her findings. She unrolled the beautiful rug on the ground in front of her and sat down. Then, Kate pulled out a book within her bag, one that Morrigan had let her borrow. She started studying intently.

About ten minutes later, the young woman was waving her hands into the air all around the camp site.

"May I ask what you are doing?", Trey questioned.

"It's a spell that prevents people from seeing or hearing anything within the barrier it creates."

"That will be useful."

"I guess so. I just want to play my music without darkspawn interference.", she chirped.

"Are you telling me that the only reason you are doing this is to listen to music?"

"Pretty much, yes."

"Ugh, don't play it too loud."

She went on about her business and created an impressive protective barrier for the group to rest within. Each group member had their own chore. Alistair and Trey sat up the tents. Leliana and Morrigan went hunting with Peep Two, and Sten had finally agreed to go find wood for the fire. Bodahn and Sandal had made themselves at home right away. The two dwarven men kept to themselves and found their own food.

Once the sky had become dark, the group settled into their own part of the camp. Sten and Morrigan, of course, stayed away from the others. Peep Two was snuggled up beside of Sandal, fast asleep. This left Alistair, Leliana, Trey, and Kate huddled around the camp fire.

"Oooh, we should tell stories! I know many stories.", Leliana giggled.

"I have a story.", Kate added.

"What is it?", Leliana listened closely.

"It is a tale of a man who was madly in…umm _love_."

"Ah, romance! My favorite!"

They listened closely to Kate's story as she continued, "This man was searching for the perfect woman. Ladies came from far away lands to meet this man, in hopes that he would fall in love with them. What they didn't know, was that he loved only certain women.", Kate smiled widely.

Trey started to get worried about where this story was going.

"His name was ser," she leaned in closely for dramatic effect, "mix-a-lot."

She quickly pulled out her phone and sung along with Sir Mix-A-Lot as he proclaimed his love for big butts.

Leliana laughed loudly as Kate started popping and locking, though she wasn't really dancing to the beat of the music.

Alistair nearly died when he heard the words: _makes me so horny_.

Trey knew it was going to be a long trip to Redcliffe Castle.

* * *

_Thanks again for reading!_


	12. Butterfly Effect

_Sorry it took so long between chapters. _

_I had to really sort out my thoughts. I had two other fan fics on my mind and had to write them. _

_Then I have a crap ton of class work to finish this week and next._

_But no worries, Trey and Kate are my babies and I love them! Therefore, will not abandon them._

_I should have more time during winter break to focus on this, and hopefully finish it._

_

* * *

_

**Butterfly Effect**

"Why _are_ we taking the assassin?", Alistair snapped.

"Don't worry, he won't hurt us. And if he tries to, we'll kill him.", Trey spoke of their newest companion. He was sure that Alistair's dislike stemmed from the risqué conversations Zevran attempted to make with Kate. To be fair, he was flirtatious with all of the ladies in camp. Of course, Alistair didn't care what was said to _all_ of the ladies, just one.

When they were attacked, Kate had knocked all of the assassins out at once. In one swift movement, she had completely encircled every foe within a ring of fire, save one of course. They all fell dead instantly. Trey could feel her magic becoming more powerful, and he was a bit jealous.

Trey hadn't expected to see Zevran, since Loghain had died in battle. The news that Zevran brought was disturbing, to put it lightly. Apparently the Queen thought that the Grey Wardens had abandoned her father. Zevran, among other assassins, were hired to seek out and kill all Grey Wardens in Ferelden.

Two distinctive _cliques _were beginning to form within camp. Huddling around Morrigan's fire place, Trey and his clique would have quiet conversations. His group consisted of Morrigan, Zevran, and Peep Two. Trey had actually become quite fond of Two, as the group started calling him.

And on the other side of camp was Kate's group. Leliana, Sten, and (of course) Alistair. Though, Sten never contributed to the conversations much.

Trey noticed that each night Kate would go talk to Sandal, though he was sure it was a pretty one sided conversation. She would take the pretty rug that she found in Lothering to him and they would sit there for hours picking at the rug. He wasn't sure what she had up her sleeve, but he didn't want to know.

What used to be "game characters" were quickly becoming the sole companions of Trey and Kate. They were real people, with feelings and ideas. They were friends and comrades.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"May I have a word with you?", Alistair asked.

"I told you before how Arl Eamon raised me, right?", Alistair mumbled with a painful look on his face.

- _Oh boy -_

"Alistair, we already know.", Kate informed him.

"What?"

"No!", Trey blurted out.

"Yeah we do, you are Maric's son."

"But how - how did you know?"

Trey stopped his sister before she could cause more damage, "It doesn't matter how we know, or that we even know at all. This doesn't affect our opinion of you. You're an awesome guy!"

Alistair looked relieved and slightly confused. But the poor guy didn't ask anything.

Upon entering the city, Kate noticed something rather peculiar. No one was there to meet them at the bridge. After crossing the bridge they traveled into the city. None of the city's inhabitants were panicked or gathered around the chantry. Before the group could investigate further, someone stopped them.

"Wait.", a voice commanded, "Alistair? Is that you?"

"Teagan! It's good to see you.", Alistair greeted him warmly.

"We all thought you were dead! In these troubled times, it is good to hear a bit of good news."

Immediately, Trey could see all three females gawking at the man in front of him. Kate was blatantly winking and pouting at Teagan; but even Morrigan seemed to be standing up a bit straighter. _Damn he has game._

"We were hoping to speak to Arl Eamon actually. Could that be arranged?", Trey asked.

"The Arl has fallen drastically ill. I _can_ take you to see Isolde, but it is likely that she will not see you today. You see, the First Enchanter of the circle of Magi and a few templars are here to take her son to the tower."

Teagan could have probably told Trey that there were twenty golden-pigs flying above his head, and Trey would have been _less_ shocked then he was now.

"Umm - okay. Is the First Enchanter still here? We actually needed to talk to him as well.", Trey stuttered.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Kate's jaws seemed to be permanently dropped. Not only was Conner not a crazy abomination, the tower of magi wasn't falling apart either. Kate stared at Uldred in disbelief as her brother did all of the talking. Irving, glad to see his old apprentices again, greeted them with warmth and kindness. Irving agreed to send some of the mages to help with the war against the darkspawn. He also promised to talk to Greagoir about the possibility of aid from the templars, though he couldn't guarantee he would comply.

She was confused as hell until she finally understood: _Loghain wasn't alive to persuade Uldred to be all bat-shit crazy! But then why was Arl Eamon sick? And where the hell was Jowan?_

Isolde decided that she was going to travel with the mages back to the tower of magi. For the first time ever, Trey admired the woman. It was clear that she would sacrifice anything for her child. It was a touching thought: to be willing to give up someone you love, to ensure their safety.

After the mages had left, Teagan invited the Wardens and their company back to the castle to stay for the night. For the first time, in the longest time, they would be sleeping on clean beds. That night, the castles servants served them a feast. Well - it was a feast compared to the bland stew that Alistair concocted each night.

The three Wardens, unashamedly gobbled down the most food of the lot. Trey had never felt so hungry in his life, but he was pretty sure Kate was eating just the same as she always had. Her eating habits had never ceased to amaze him, especially since she was so tiny.

As their rooms were being prepared, the crew waited in the main hall. Since everyone else was wrapped up in their own conversation, Trey went off to a corner by himself. He found lute and started strumming to get a feel for the instrument.

"I didn't take you for the musical sort.", Morrigan took him by surprise.

"My mother wanted us to learn how to play an instrument. I chose violin. A violin is like-"

"I know what a violin is.", she laughed.

"Oh. I-I didn't know.", he stated, "Well I chose violin. At first Kate wanted to play drums. But mom _hated_ the constant pounding. So, she switched to tuba, to satisfy her need to be loud."

"And what about you?"

"Hmm? What do you mean?"

"Why did you choose violin?"

"Oh, that's more simple. My father played violin."

"So you sought his approval?", she asked.

"He died when I was young. And don't say your sorry!", he added quickly, "I think, what I wanted, was to feel some sort of connection to him. Like, if I played the same instrument that he did, I could understand something from his world."

"How _poetic_.", she teased, causing them both to chuckle.

"So, _fearless leader_, where are we off to next?", Morrigan asked.

"Me? Fearless? That's funny. I thought that was Kate."

"You are made of more than you think, young one. You don't give yourself enough credit."

He blushed, "Well, he hasn't asked yet, but I bet we're going to be looking for Andraste's Ashes to heal the Arl."

Before Morrigan could reply, Teagan came into the room and informed them that the guest rooms were ready for them.

Kate had been sitting with Sandal when the announcement was made. They were working on the rug again. The young dwarf looked tired, but Kate was still pretty awake. She started to lift herself up when she felt a hand push up under her own, lifting her from the ground.

"What are you two doing with that rug?", Alistair asked.

"If you can guess I'll tell you.", Kate grinned slyly.

"Oh, let's see. _I know_, you're making me a new shield aren't you.", he laughed.

"Of course. _Oh darkspawn, fear my great taste in home décor!_ That'll scare them off."

"Fine, fine. Keep your secrets.", he faked a cry.

Kate giggled, "Goodnight Alistiar.

"Wait. I-uh- just wanted to let you know how grateful I am that you're _you_, instead of some other Grey Warden."

Kate cocked an eyebrow.

"Oh, that sounded better in my head. I just really mean to say that - I've really come to care about you.", Alistair continued.

_Oh no._

"Alistair, I really like you. You're great, but, I don't like you _that_ way. I just really don't want to feel tied down. I don't date a lot and -", she rambled.

Alistair grinned, "I know."

"You know? What do you mean, I - _wait._ You're not going to give up are you?"

"Nope.", he smiled.

"It's not gonna happen. Not in a million years!"

He leaned in close, "I'm up for a challenge."

"You really _are _a Royal Bastard!"

"Ha! I should use that line more often.", he chuckled.

"Alright, let's get to bed - _You're Worship."_

"Ouch! Cold."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

_The sky was deep purple, with golden lights. Everything was dark._

_Kate wandered through the odd cavern._

_What is this place?, she asked herself._

_She danced in the strange fog, and looked for a sign of life._

_A woman was walking in the distance._

_She was clothed in all black._

_Her white hair blew wildly in the air, and yet, there was no wind._

_The woman's head snapped toward Kate._

_Instantly the woman was in front of Kate's face._

"_I found you!", the woman snarled._

After hearing the screams , Trey, Alistair, and Zevran darted to the girl's room.

Morrigan was looking at Kate like she was a mad woman. While Leliana was trying to comfort her, but Kate kept pushing her away.

Trey ran to her side and shook her until she woke up. Her body was drenched in cold sweat.

"It's okay! It was just a dream.", Trey tried to console her.

Kate's breathing became more even, but she didn't say a word.

"I screamed like a girl the first time I had a fade dream.", Alistair explained.

But this wasn't a normal Grey Warden nightmare.

Kate _knew_ it was real; and she feared it.

* * *

_Because Alistair isn't a quitter! Am I right?_

_What do you think?_


	13. Rise and Shine

**Rise and Shine**

Kate woke up to an elven servant's gentle nudging.

"I'm sorry Miss, but Bann Teagan has requested that the three Wardens dine with him this morning.", The girl whispered.

"Mmmkay", Kate grunted, then lifted herself out of bed. Her eyes were heavy. Tugging on her robes, the mage began undressing her.

"Whoa! What are you doing lady?", Kate's eyes popped open. There were five servants in the room staring, her face turn red.

"I'm sorry! You do want to be washed up before breakfast, don't you?"

"Sure, but I can do it myself!", she protested.

An older servant laughed, "Nonsense! Don't worry Miss, we'll get you washed up in no time."

"NO!", Kate huffed and readied a pillow as if it was a weapon.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Trey had never felt more content in his life. He hated being dirty, and since he hadn't showered in the past four days, he was starting to really, _really_, stink. Because of the unclean feeling, he was becoming more easily agitated. Since his morning shower, Trey felt refreshed an ready to start traveling again. Teagan had supplied him with new mages robes, that felt soft and clean.

Alistair, Trey, and Bann Teagan stood by the table, waiting for their last companion. Bang! The door shut loudly behind Kate. She was wearing new clothes as well, though they were not robes. The dress she was wearing was made of long, dark green and pale pink, silk. The bodice and sleeves were embellished with white lace. Tugging and pulling out the ribbons in her hair, Kate walked toward the three men with a sour look on her face. With each step she discarded ribbon after ribbon on the floor.

"You have _strong_ servants.", She sighed, looking defeated.

As the servants presented their meals, the four of them were seated at the grand table. Kate caught the eye of one of the older ladies, and stuck her tongue out at her.

Trey leaned in to whisper, "Friend of yours?"

"Don't ask!", she shot back.

"Wait? Is that - Is that makeup?"

"Watch it.", she threatened him with her fork.

While eating, no one talked much. Teagan stared in amazement as the Wardens ate…and ate. The Wardens' manners were poor, to put it lightly. They were swapping food off of each other's plates, then shoveling it into their mouths.

As the Wardens finished feasting, Teagan spoke up.

"My friends, you need to know that you are considered criminals. The Queen has declared that all Wardens in Ferelden are now wanted, dead or alive."

"So it's true.", Trey sighed.

Alistair spoke up, "She sent an assassin to hunt us down. He says, that the Queen believes the Wardens abandoned the King and her father. I swear to you that we didn't abandon Cailan. We wouldn't do that. _I_ wouldn't do that."

"It's okay Alistair, I believe you. I do not think you would carelessly walk into this city if you were not innocent."

"Perhaps you could offer us aid then?", Trey suggested.

"Indeed. I will be more than happy to supply you with any equipment you may need. Though, I _was_ hoping to ask of you, a favor. Eamon, he is unwell. I have been trying to find a way to cure him. In fact, two of the best healers in Ferelden have been by his side since he has fallen ill. What I was wondering is - could they travel with you and perhaps search for a cure?"

Trey and Kate looked at each other and grinned, "Oh, I think we can handle that."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

The Wardens, and their companions, went to pick up their equipment in town. Trey and the rest of the companions picked up new armor and weapons, while Kate and Bodhan left to buy food, lyrium, and other small things they would need.

Leliana and Sten needed new armor. With Sten's large frame it took a while to find armor that could fit him.

After shopping and gathering supplies, Kate returned to Trey and the rest of the group. She bought Sandal some sweeties. Kate then turned to Sten and presented him with a sword.

At first, Sten was in shock, then his face turned cold, "Where did you get this? How did you know where to find it? How did you know it was mine?"

"Let's just say, there is a dwarf in this village with a shiny black eye."

"How did you know?", he pressed further.

Kate told him what happened to his sword in detail. She told him that she knew because she had "seen it before", though he didn't know what that meant.

He finally resolved, "Then you must be a prophet."

"I guess you could call me that, sure!", Kate chirped.

Climbing the steep hill, the group made their way to the windmill to meet Bann Teagan and his healers. Trey felt a rush of excitement as he could see Bann Teagan with Wynne beside of him. Wynne had to be in her sixties, but you couldn't tell from the way she looked. Trey thought she looked similar to his forty-three-year-old mother, with the exception of her snow white hair.

"Do you have everything you need?", Teagan asked, while walking to greet them.

Trey spoke up, "I think so. We should be ready to go."

"Let me introduce you to Wynne. She is one of the healers that will be accompanying you as you travel. Surely you know her from the circle tower?"

Trey wasn't really sure if he _knew _her or not so he simply smiled, waiting for Wynne's response.

"I don't believe we have. Pleased to meet you.", Wynne bowed.

"Pleased to meet _you._"

Teagan shifted his body to glance around the area, "Where is the other? What was his name?"

"Wait - Wait! Don't leave without me!" Running up the hill, Trey found the person yelling.

"Anders!", Kate blurted out.

Anders bent himself over to catch his breath. He was still panting when he raised back up.

"Whew, I thought I was going to get left behind. Sorry, having a little chat with a serving girl, if you know what I mean.", Anders winked while elbowing Trey.

Wynne snapped at him, "The only reason that you are out of that tower is to help the Arl. You best remember that, the next time you decide to take a detour."

Trey thanked the Bann for all of his help and started to turn away.

"Wait - I have something for you, before you leave.", Teagan pulled jewelry out of a sack, "These are enchanted jewels. My sister left them to me when she died. She would want you to have them, to aid our brother."

He pulled out a ring, "This is the _Dawn Ring_. It is meant to give strength to the person who wears it.", Teagan placed the ring in Alistair's hand.

Teagan turned to Trey, "This is the _Buckle of the Winds_. The buckle is supposed to help it's wearer defend themselves." Trey took the belt. Holding the buckle in his hands, he was surprised to discover that it was cold to the touch.

Then he presented an amulet to Kate. It was black, with markings all around it. "This is the _Will of the Unyielding_. Not that I think you are lacking willpower.", Teagan laughed as he clasped the amulet around Kate's neck. Kate could feel strength encompass her as soon as the amulet touched her neck.

"Good luck Wardens. May the Maker watch over you."

The three Grey Wardens, and their companions, turned to face their destiny.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

After traveling all day, the group found a place to camp.

Trey tried to talk to Kate about coming up with a game plan. He thought it would be smart to split up and go to different quests.

"I'm just saying, it would be a lot faster if I went off to Orzammar. Then you could go find the Sacred Ashes.", Trey pointed out.

"Are you crazy? Don't you ever watch movies? When people split up, shit goes _down_."

"Come on! We can meet up at Redcliffe. Nothing bad is going to happen."

"When did you become so brave?", she snapped.

Trey scoffed, "Never mind, we'll talk about this later."

Trey had allowed Kate, Anders, and Alistair to find food for the evening, which ended up being a real bad idea.

Ten minutes after dinner was over, Trey heard a shrill scream coming from Morrigan's tent.

"Who did this?", she screamed.

Morrigan turned out her sack. Heaps of frogs tangled in undergarments spilled out of the sack like confetti. Light snickering could be heard on the other side of camp.

Morrigan sprinted across camp, "You'll be joining them soon enough!", she shouted at the trio.

Kate and Anders laughed even more loudly, but Alistair seemed to cower at the thought of being a slimy toad.

Morrigan lifted up her staff to strike, but Trey swiftly stopped her by catching her hand.

"I'll help you with your - um - _things_, in a minute.", Trey turned to his sister, "From now on, leave Morrigan alone."

"What's the fun in that?", Kate giggled.

Trey sighed, "Can't you be serious for once?"

"You have to admit, it _was _funny."

"Goodnight, Kate.", Trey turned to help Morrigan.

"_I wanna see your Peacock-cock-cock, your peacock!"_

"OH! Would you please, for the love of GOD, put that thing away already?"

* * *

_I will try to get another chapter out this weekend!_

_Share your thoughts :)_


	14. Separation

_This chapter is not all fun and fluff…you have been warned._

_The tango is a little tribute to my own brother. We have been goofily dancing the tango for 10+ years now lol._

_

* * *

_

**Separation**

The world was still dark when the tents were being taken down. It was the time just between night and day. Dark clouds surrounded the earth, but the dark teal sky could be seen behind them. A hint of gold touched the tops of the cotton ball clouds.

The chill of the morning made Kate shiver, and she pulled the cloak closer to her body. Whipping winds made the air seem cooler than it was.

Most of the companions were still rubbing the 'sleepy' out of their eyes as they started to travel. Trey, however, seemed very awake and alert. He tried, unsuccessfully, to make cheerful conversation as they trudged along a dirt path walking out of the woods and into the plains.

Kate tip-toed next to her brother, grumbled a bit, then buried her head into his arm. Trey chuckled, knowing that Kate had never been a morning person. He recalled one incident when she'd spent the night with her friend, Judy. Kate was forbidden to come back after punching Judy's mom in the face for startling her in an attempt to wake Kate up. It was an accident, of course, but still something Trey and their mother teased her about from time to time.

Since Kate wouldn't agree to separate, Trey decided it would be best to go to travel to Orzammar first. There, they had a better chance of finding out where to search for the small village where Brother Genitivi would be captured…or would he. Trey had been worrying about timing. In game, you could take as long as you wanted in a quest and nothing would change in the world. In real life, this wasn't the case. It was possible that Genitivi had already been killed.

As the day moved along, slowly but surely, the companions started to wake up. Leliana and Sandal had been trying to teach Two tricks all morning, but he wouldn't comply and simply licked at Sandal's face. The dog happily skipped around the group as they traveled.

Morrigan and Alistair were busy bickering about the Chantry and it's double standards. They were both appointed to the task of navigating the map. Morrigan's innate sense of direction and survival skills paired with Alistair's familiarity of Ferelden, should have meant that they could work symbiotically. Of course this wasn't the case, as they were nearly always fighting.

While , Kate hummed 'Por Una Cabeza'. Trey caught Kate by the hand, twirling her around. Playfully, they danced the tango, without the usual sensuality that most dance partners possessed. They goofily exaggerated each turn of the head. Trey finally dipped Kate close to the ground.

"Yay, bravo!", Leliana cheered once they were finished with their game. The brother and sister bowed deeply, then burst into uncontrollable giggling.

"I'm glad that everyone_ else_ is having fun, while I'm stuck with this _putrescent_, _little, imbecile_.", Morrigan's words were clearly meant for Alistair.

"_Oh_, Come off it! As if _you_ could read this thing by yourself.", Alistair pointed, indicating the map.

Five minutes into Alistair and Morrigan's heated argument, a loud chortle escaped Wynne's throat. "I wonder,", Wynne managed to ask, "could all of this _squabbling _be a way of suppressing feelings of, dare I say it, _attraction_?"

"No.", They said in unison, while glaring at each other. It was the _only_ thing that they agreed on. And Trey believed them.

At some point, between the laughter and nasty glares, Two had traveled far out into the distance. He was now dashing toward the rest of his crew, braking wildly. Trey sensed the danger in the dog's howling and scanned the area.

Behind Two, an army of darkspawn chased the dog toward his companions.

Morrigan sighed, "No! Stupid dog."

The party readied their weapons, preparing for battle.

Sten charged at the horde, Alistair and Zevran followed behind him, and soon enough, Two was biting the heels of the darkspawn.

Casting their protective spells, Anders, Wynne, and Trey stayed furthest away from the creatures, aside from Bodahn and Sandal.

Morrigan and Kate were casting spells of destruction, in fact, they seemed to work well together. Kate scorched a large group of darkspawn with a bursting flame that emitted from the palms of her hands, while Morrigan stunned the enemies that got too close.

Trey felt tightness surrounding his body. In the midst of the horde, an emissary's glower was directed at Trey. He could feel his mana being drained and, eventually, it felt as though his very life might be sucked from him.

It took all of the strength Trey could muster to scream, "Leliana! Kill the emissary!"

Trey was amazed at how immediate her shots were. Upon releasing an arrow into the air, it seemed if she had instantaneously replaced her old arrow with a new one. It wasn't long until the emissary was defeated. Trey could feel his power regaining, but not fully.

Considering the number of darkspawn, their battle was going surprisingly well.

This is why Trey was shaken when he heard the blood-curdling scream escape from Bodahn's lips, "SANDAL! SON, NO!"

Trey's heart rushed in horror as he saw the boy racing toward the lot of the horde. Sandal wasn't running with intentions of facing the horde. Rather, he'd let Kate's beautiful rug escape his grasp, and was now running to retrieve the wind blown carpet.

"No!", Kate screamed. Before Trey could stop her, she sprinted to get to the little dwarf.

Out of breath, Kate gripped the young boy in her arms and faced the monsters that approached them. She lifted her arms in the air, creating a shielding bubble around them.

In the thick of battle, Alistair mercilessly pummeled into the darkspawn trying to reach Kate and Sandal.

The darkspawn soon encompassed the little bubble that contained Trey's sister. Some of them passed up the bubble, and charged toward the healing mages.

Kate snarled at the wild things in front of her, causing them to slightly recoil. She lifted her hand in the air for a second time, concentrating with all of her might. She felt the power surge inside of her body, yet maintained her stance until she felt as though her body was so full of energy it might spill over. In a rough, barreling movement, Kate smashed the palm of her hand into the ground.

The ground shook beneath them, causing the darkspawn to panic.

Leliana caught Wynne, keeping her from falling to the ground.

Right in front of Trey, a deep crack ran across the ground. The crack became deeper and wider, swallowing the darkspawn that were charging at him. A large crevasse was now separating him from his sister.

The bubble that was once protecting Sandal and Kate, started blinking and slowly fading away. Kate stared into the eyes of the Hurlock that growled at her wickedly. The beast lifted it's axe into the air, ready to take the life of the Warden in front of him.

Kate's eyes closed, as she held Sandal's body tightly. She heard the crashing sound of a collision, and slowly looked up at the Hurlock again. In front of her, waving his sword forcefully, Sten had taken the blow that belonged to her. His arm now gushed with blood. The sight of bright, red liquid mixing with the darkspawn's own black blood, was nearly hypnotizing.

Sten scooped Kate into his arms, running toward Zevran, Two, and Alistair. The darkspawn were close behind.

The last that Trey saw of his sister, was her body dangling over Sten's shoulder, along with Sandal's.

"KATE!", Trey's screams broke off into cries. He could feel his stomach churning and his chest pained with grief.

Running to the very edge of the chasm, that stretched nearly twenty feet wide, Trey tried to determine if he could jump to the other side. The answer was obvious.

He clasped his head into his hands and started to pace around the edge. Painful, and unintelligible screams coughed from his throat. Anders placed a palm on Trey's chest, keeping him from completely falling into the abyss at his feet.

"No, no, no, my son, no.", Bodahn kept chanting under his breath. Leliana tried to comfort the man. But what could comfort him?

A single genlock had remained from the clan, and started running toward Anders.

Morrigan swiftly kicked the darkspawn off of the ledge into the gulf, then spat in it's direction.

"Come, we must go.", she said calmly.

"_Must _we!", Trey screamed indignantly.

"Search yourself boy. You know your sister to be alive."

Trey could still feel the taint that had coursed through Kate's veins. He thought he could feel her presence, and definitely felt Alistair's. But it was hard to trust a feeling, when they were surrounded by darkspawn.

"Where will we go?", Leliana asked weakly.

With the path to Orzammar cut off, Trey knew there was only one place _to _go.

"We will head south, in search for Andraste's holy ashes."

* * *

_Okay, that was quite a bit of seriousness in one chapter._

_I can tell you with confidence, that I probably won't get to update again until Thursday/Friday__**ish**__._

_The only way I can know your thoughts is if you review!_

_Please let me know if you have any questions/comments or feedback in general!_


	15. Kate's Will

_I am sooooooo sorry that I didn't post this sooner! Please don't hurt me!_

_I promise that this won't happen again._

_So, from now until they meet back again, I will be alternating chapters that focus on Trey's group looking for the ashes and Kate's group in Orzammar._

**

* * *

**

**Kate's Will**

They ran.

They ran with little hope.

Arrows were flying toward them. Most missed. One didn't. Like the strike of serpent, the arrow bit into Zevran's calf. The stinging pain was instant and caused the elf to stagger, but only for a second. Lingering could cost him his life.

They ran with no where to go.

Seeing an entrance into the woods, Alistair beckoned his companions to follow him. Perhaps they could shave off some of the darkspawn's numbers, or at least slow them down.

They ran with all the strength they could muster.

But when his strength ran out, Sten dropped the children from his arms. There was no energy to sustain him. His vision blurred. His body grew numb. His heartbeat pounded at a slower tempo. Within seconds, the giant's limp body fell. The two men at his side caught him, and struggled to keep him held up.

"Sandal!", Kate shouted out, then held her hands out.

Sandal threw Kate the rug.

She unrolled it by whipping the carpet in the air. It slipped from her hands and magically hovered over the ground. With haste, the carpet moved under Sten's body and lifted him up. The carpet was flying with the body of a giant on it's back.

Kate tugged the carpet along in one hand, and held on to Sandal in the other as they ran further into the woods. The trees were tall and lacking greenness of summer. Instead, heaps of dried out leaves were at the feet of the runaway group.

The darkspawn were still close behind them. Kate could hear their war cries and the clanking of metal from their armor.

Sliding down a small hill and into a creek, Kate caught sight of a dark cavern hidden by rock and green moss that had grown around it's edges. Alistair must have seen it too, he lead the companions into the cave.

Her hands shakily waved around the entrance of the cave to create a barrier that would them from the outside world.

Alistair grabbed her arm, pulling her behind him, "Sten needs healed, now! I'll hold any back that try to get through."

Kate gasped in horror at the sight of Sten. His body was completely white. If he was breathing, it was so little that she couldn't see his chest rising. Zevran was already trying to wash off some of the darkspawn blood that had splattered Sten's body. If it settled into his wounds, he could die from it's taint.

Kate quickly drank the lyrium potion Zevran had tossed her, then ripped along the hem of her robes. She covered the deep gashes in Sten's arm with the loose fabric from her dress, and firmly pressed down. Blood saturated the thin cloth and was soon warm on her palms. Her blood stained hands shook as she cast healing spells over the man who had saved her. His wounds didn't seem to close.

It consumed her mind as she tried desperately to heal Sten in time. _It was her fault. _

Her eyes burned, and soon they blurred from the tears that flooded them. She trembled and quietly cried over his body.

Zevran knelt beside of Kate with an injury kit at his side. He firmly touched her shoulder, "You're doing fine. We need to find a way to stop his bleeding. Do you have rope?"

She whimpered, "No, I didn't buy rope."

_What can I use?_, she wondered, and caught herself cursing at the grave situation they were in. Time was running out.

"My hair!", she screamed and grabbed Zevran's dagger.

At first, she placed the blade at the scalp of her head. She could practically hear her mother lamenting her beautiful locks, so she lowered the blade. Quickly Kate sliced the lovely tresses from her head.

Zevran's eyes widened as she pushed the blood soaked hair into his hand. He tightly tied the long hair around Sten's upper arm, then handed Kate some salve, instructing her to rub it into the laceration once the bleeding stopped. Zevran then went off to his own corner to remove the arrow from his sore calf.

Kate did as she was instructed, then helped Zevran with his wounds, which were much less severe. They were healed quickly.

Alistair was still guarding vigilantly at the entrance of the cave. In the corner Two and Sandal were hugging each other; neither seemed to have any injuries.

Kate allowed herself to rest against the cold, rock wall. She closed her heavy eyes, and inhaled deeply trying to regain her composure. The heaviness of their situation strained on her. _Too grim_, she caught herself thinking. But whether she wanted to be involved in a solemn situation or not, she was already immersed in one.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"You can't _leave_, it's too dark! You're going to get yourself killed."

"I'll be fine. We need to find that flower for Sten in case-."

"Wilds Flower, it's white and smells like honey. See, you don't even know what you're looking for! Besides, there could still be darkspawn out there."

"Hmm, sounds like you could be a little _concerned_ about me."

"Don't flatter yourself _your worship_. Get your ass back here as soon as possible."

Alistair grinned wryly, and turned to check the area.

Kate had wanted to go look for the flower herself. It was the least she could do for the giant who saved her. Of course _Alistair_ had it in his _royal head_ that _he _should be the one to look for the flower. _Stubborn ass_.

Zevran was the only other person awake inside of the cave, so Kate sat beside him. They both huddled together near the large ball of fire floating in the middle of the cavern. It was a spell that Kate had cast to illuminate the area and keep them warm.

Even with the hovering fire, Kate still shivered from the coolness of the evening.

"I believe _I_ can help you with that, my dear.", he winked.

Kate was just seconds away from smacking the man until he pulled out a pair of leather boots from his backpack.

"Here. Your shoes are soaked.", he pointed out, then offered his boots.

Kate looked down at her cloth footwear. She had forgotten about sliding into the creek earlier that day. Quickly, she ripped the shoes and socks from her feet, then looked for fresh socks in her pack.

The boots were warm and surprisingly comfortable. The leather was smooth to the touch, with an unusual lightness.

"They're brilliant. Thank you!"

"As they should be. They were made from fine Antivan leather. I bought them just before leaving my country. Trust me when I say, you will _never_ find better boots."

"You - you bought them?"

"Ah ha, you think me a scoundrel? Perhaps I _stole_ them, hmm?"

"No! It's not that at all. I just - I can't wear these. Aren't they important to you?"

"Indeed they are. I suspect, and it is only speculation of course, that your feet are more important to you, than the boots are to me."

"Thank you Zevran.", she blushed.

"You may call me Zev, and you're _most welcome._", he purred.

"Well, _Zev_, I appreciate it."

Zevran lifted his hand to touch the jagged tips of her hair, which ended just below her shoulders.

"Not many women would be so willing to sacrifice hair _that_ long. Do you -"

SNAP

Zevran and Kate quickly turned their heads toward the entrance, startled by the sound. Zev instinctively readied his blade and stretched his arm in front of Kate, who was reaching for her own weapon.

Their hearts quickened until the culprit revealed himself.

"I'm _starving_. Did we get a backpack with _food_?", Alistair whined.

Kate exhaled in relief, "Well? Did you find it?"

Alistair held out his hand with the fully blossomed flower.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Rise an-"

"_Don't. Start._"

"I can't even greet you properly? What a shame.", Alistair made a sad face.

Though Alistair's watch hour was now officially over, he couldn't get to sleep. He wasn't sure if it was because it was so close to morning, or if the lovely lady beside of him was keeping his eyes open.

"Do you think he'll be alright?", Kate asked motioning at Sten.

"The Qunari are extremely resilient. He'll be up and back to his _jolly_ self in no time. Which reminds me - The carpet, how did you do it?"

Kate had almost fallen asleep again, "Huh? Oh. Just helped Sandal sew in runes. I didn't think it would _actually _work though."

"I must say, it was -"

"Fucking awesome?"

"_Amazing_, I was going to say amazing.", Alistair blushed.

Kate laughed, then reached for her backpack, "Oh yeah. I have something for you."

From her pack, Kate pulled out a fist sized object, wrapped in paper. She tossed it to Alistair, who then began to unwrap his _surprise_.

Alistair gushed, "Cheddar! My favorite. I _knew_ you cared, brings a tear to the eye!" His excitement nearly overcame him.

"Just eat the damn cheese!"

"Are you okay? You seemed _upset_ earlier.", he asked. In fact she was more than upset. Alistair had wanted to comfort her as he heard her cries.

"I'm fine.", she answered, "It was just _frightening_. I don't want to talk about it."

Still sleepy, Kate rested her head on Alistair's shoulder. Alistair's heart fluttered wildly. He looked over at the little woman who drove him _mad_. Her hair was now several inches shorter than it used to be. He wanted so badly run his fingers through it.

At first he thought it was crazy feel that way about her. Profane words spilled from her mouth as frequently as the air she breathed. She was loud, and always doing something unexpected. Behind all of that he saw someone who was kind, loyal, and honest. She seemed to care deeply for those around her, and he respected it.

As they sat in the darkness, Alistair mulled over ways to start a conversation.

"By the way, that thing you did today, with the ground, that was impressive. Those darkspawn were scared to tears! I know I was."

"I was too. I felt so weak afterward. Like I couldn't move. And I saw -", she trailed off, thinking about what she had seen.

Not wanting to make her feel uncomfortable, Alistair changed the subject.

"So, if you weren't raised in Ferelden, where did you grow up? Do you have a lot of family?"

"My family, well you've already met half of my family. Then there's my mom, Bea - and yes, that _is _her real name. We don't really have any other family, it's just the three of us."

"Do you miss her?"

"I'm concerned for her. With both of us missing, she must be worried sick.", she paused for a long time. Alistair was worried that he'd upset her. But she quickly changed the subject and asked, "What was it like living with the Arl of Redcliffe?"

Alistair explained what it was like growing up in Redcliffe. He told her about Eamon, sleeping in a straw bed, and Isolde. He felt a sting of shame as told her about his mother's amulet.

"What did it look like?", Kate asked him.

"The amulet? It was silver, and I believe it had the emblem of Andraste's Flame on the front of it. But it's been so long, I can't…what are you looking for?"

Kate dug through her pack ferociously. Her beautiful, grey eyes lit up and Alistair knew that she had found the lost object. He never imagined he would see his mother's amulet dangling from her long fingers.

"It's not broken! Where did you -", his thoughts scrambled as he tried to find the words to say. "Thank you!", they finally came out.

"You're welcome."

A growl came from within the cave. Kate and Alistair ran to see what was wrong.

The found Sten awake, and thrashing around the cave. He caught sight of them and clasped his hand around Alistair's neck.

"Where is Asala?", he snarled.

Alistair choked in response. _Who is Asala?_

"Wait - WAIT. It's here. It's safe!", Kate screamed

Sten dropped the man and turned to his sword.

Alistair touched the front of his sore neck, "Are you _crazy_?"

Sten took the sword into his hands, gripping it tightly. Then raised his arm to place it in it's sheath. He felt a deep pain in the arm he raised.

"Be careful, you were hurt. Just take it easy. I tried to heal you but -", she cut herself off, thinking about how she had failed him.

"You found my sword, then kept me from death. I am in your debt, and will grant anything that you ask of me."

"_Anything_?"

* * *

_This really took me forever to write. So let me know what you think _

_Oh Alistair, you have your hands full buddy!_


	16. Stories

**Stories**

Though they had been traveling since the darkspawn attack, Trey didn't feel tired. He didn't feel hungry. In fact, he didn't feel much of anything. He silently lead the group, who constantly stayed a few paces behind him.

He reached into his backpack and felt around for the object of his interest, and pulled out a shiny black cell phone. He had assumed Kate dropped it while running to save her little friend. That the phone hadn't been thrown into the deep crevasse, was nothing short of a miracle. His thumbs slid across the glossy screen as he looked through her phone. Kate _lived _by that phone, which kept her schedules and alarms constantly going. Anyone else who looked at the phone would think that it belonged to someone with perfect time management. Trey knew that those alarms were the only way the poor girl remembered anything. And it drove him _crazy_. He hated it when people were late to things, and obsessed over constantly being on time. Kate, she was constantly late.

Trey kept thumbing through Kate's phone until he came across her music. The artists ranged from Willie Nelson, Lady Gaga, Muse, and Queen. Her play list was like a musical tossed salad. Thinking of how many times he had gotten after her for having the phone out pained him.

He turned his mind to other things, to give it a rest from it's constant worrying. _Everyone must be tired_, he thought. After all, they hadn't slept the night before, and it was starting to become dark. Trey decided it was time to set up camp.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

The night was more pleasant than Trey thought it would be. The warmth of the fire, coupled with his cozy quilt made for a relatively comfortable night. Leliana, Morrigan, Anders, and Trey huddled near the fire, while Wynne and Bodahn kept to themselves.

Being with Anders helped Trey considerably. Anders talked to Trey, trying to comfort him, and was usually making jokes to make Trey feel better.

"And this one time," Anders laughed, "we stuffed a set of apprentice robes full of hay, and tossed out the top floor window! The templars thought a mage had finally tried to jump out of the window." He laughed loudly at the memory of his prank.

Trey wondered out loud, "How did you manage to get to Redcliffe with Wynne?"

"Ah, that. It had been a month since I had been released from solitary confinement, when I was offered an opportunity to go to Redcliffe. I was actually just about to try to escape for the seventh time when Wynne caught me hiding in the kitchen garbage. She scolded me real good, then told me about Redcliffe. It was an opportunity to get out of the Tower legally for once. And hopefully, for a longer period of time.", he laughed to himself.

Anders continued and nodded at Trey, "What about you? Do you have any stories?"

Trey thought for a moment. Did he have any stories? Was Halo or Mass Effect 2 considered a great story? He finally decided it was not, then shook his head no.

Leliana chirped, "I know stories! All kinds of stories."

"Do you know any Ferelden stories?", Anders asked.

"Of course! You must have heard of Flemeth, no?"

Trey smiled, "Yeah Morrigan, you ever heard of Flemeth?"

Morrigan rolled her eyes, clearly not amused.

"Hmm. If you've already heard of Flemeth, do you know the story of her and the four blood rings?", Leliana asked.

Trey had never head of such a thing, and his interest was now peeked. "Let's hear it.", he encouraged her to tell the story.

Leliana flashed a large smile, then began telling the tale of the blood rings:

"Not long ago, four, powerful, apostate mages roamed this world.

There was, of course, Flemeth, the powerful shape changer and infamous Witch of the Wilds."

"Freya, a fair, Elven woman. Freya hated war, and wished only for her brothers and sisters to be a free of the clutches of the Circle. Her magic was peaceful and pure, and she became the most powerful spirit healer in the world."

"Salphaia, a woman of fierce beauty. Her skin was a beautiful bronze color, her eyes were a ferocious icy blue. She prided herself on her beauty, and ability to manipulate both men and women. Salphaia studied Entropic magic, that corroded and twisted the mind and memories of her prey."

"Ephairm not only controlled the elements of the world, but in time he studied the magic of Creation. He eventually dabbled in the creation of life. Many thought him to be the most powerful mage in the world, considering him even more powerful than the notorious Flemeth."

"These mages formed an alliance, studying the ways of this world, and others. Together, they forged the four blood rings. The rings bound the mages together, so that no matter where they were, they could be found."

"Now, Salphaia, seeing the power that Ephairm possessed, became jealous. She claimed that she had fallen deeply in love with him, and took him to her bed. Afterward, she tried desperately to manipulate Ephairm into revealing the secrets of his magic. But Ephairm did not fall for her trickery, and forced her to give up her blood ring. Outraged, she ran from him, keeping the ring that he demanded."

"A year later, Ephairm met a beautiful noble woman named Bernadette. Bernadette's hair was the color of fire, and it curled wildly around her face. Enraptured by the beauty of Bernadette, Ephairm declared his love for her. Loving him as well, Bernadette rejected her claims as a noble and ran away with Ephairm."

"Flemeth was unhappy with the arrangement, and warned Ephairm of her own marriage with a noble."

"But Ephairm married Bernadette, and soon had two children. A son, and a daughter."

"Years later, Salphaia found Ephairm and his family. She cried to Ephairm, showing him the child that they had created. She wept and claimed that Bernadette had poisoned him. This time her tricks worked. Ephairm went mad over the thoughts of abandoning his first child, and told the child he would do _anything_ undo his wrongs."

"Upon the request of his Salphaia, Ephairm chased down and murdered his son and lovely daughter. Salphaia had her revenge."

"Realizing what he had done, Ephairm went mad with grief. He left the blood ring on his son's chest, and ran deep into the wilds, never to be seen again."

"Bernadette, seeing her lifeless children, fell upon them, weeping. When she saw Ephraim's blood ring, she remembered his alliance, and called to his friends for help. Freya and the mighty Flemeth heard her cries, and Bernadette begged them to heal her children."

"Feeling the mother's sorrow, Freya agreed to save the children. She placed a hand on both children, and her youth began to melt away. Her face wrinkled, and her hair began to grey. Freya gave up years from her life to revive the children."

"But Flemeth, furious that she had lost all members of her small order, made Bernadette make a dark promise in exchange for Ephairm's blood ring. Bernadette knew that the blood ring would help her keep a safe distance from Salphaia and in constant contact with Freya, so she agreed to the secret promise."

Leliana added, "Some say that Flemeth asked Bernadette to find Ephairm to help her discover his powerful magic, but no one truly knows."

Trey grinned, "So, is it true Morrigan?"

Morrigan huffed, "It is true that mother once lead a small order of _free_ mages. If you are asking about the romance and betrayal, that I cannot say."

"Wait. Your mother is Flemth? _The Flemeth_ of legends?", Leliana's eyes shot wide open.

"You don't believe me? But I assure you, tis so."

"No! That's not what I meant. I only meant - I mean. That's amazing!", Leliana gushed.

Morrigan continued, "Also true, is the forging of the '_blood rings'_, though I have never heard my mother call them such a name." Morrigan reached into her pack. She extended her arm and revealed two rings in the palm of her hand.

The rings were made of plain gold, as far as Trey could tell. They shined brilliantly, as if they were just made. Upon further inspection, Trey could see red scratches on the inside of the rings.

_Is this the ring that Morringan gives you in the game?_, Trey wondered as he rested his body on ground, pulling his blankets over him. Before he could come to a decision about the rings, he succumbed to his exhaustion and fell into a deep sleep.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

_Trey's body sunk into the comfortable couch with a game controller in his hands._

"_It's been way too long.", he grumbled._

_The mess that Kate left behind was gone, thank God. _

_The only snacks left in his room was a bag of Doritos and a 24 case of Dr. Pepper._

_His mother walked into the room._

"_Hey mama Bea.", Trey grinned, more than happy to see his mother._

"_What are you doing bub?", his mother asked patting his head._

_Trey sighed, "Playing Halo. But I can't find a way out of the Circle Tower."_

"_Have you tried hiding in the kitchen garbage?"_

"_Yeah, seven times!"_

_His mother thought for a moment, "Maybe if you put a blood ring on earth, you could find your way back home!"_

"_Good idea mom."_

_Bea smiled, "You have visitors!"_

_Kate and Alistair ran into the room screaming, "Brother!"_

_Bea turned back to her son, "You aren't __**really**__ playing Halo."_

"_What?"_

"_Wake up Trey!" Alistair and Kate kept chanting._

"Come on, wake up!", Morrigan shook Trey until his eyes finally opened.

"No more bedtime stories.", Trey grumbled. What a weird dream.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Trey had expected to not be welcomed in the frightening little village of Haven , but hadn't expected _this_. The village was red with the blood of the villagers who once inhabited it. The bodies of men, women, and children laid lifelessly on the ground, drenched in their own blood. Most of them were so slaughtered that they were unrecognizable.

Leliana cried, "Who did this?"

No one had an answer.

Trey lead them through the masses of dead bodies, to the chantry that rested at the top of the large hill.

Inside of the chantry were, _who would have guessed it_, more dead bodies. Trey became sick at the stench of blood and death.

Trey ran into the dark room and found Brother Genitivi. His body was cold and decaying.

Trey's heart sank. He wished he could have saved the man. _What are we going to do now?_ What he wouldn't give for his sister to be here now!

A deep voice came from the shadowy corner, "Are you looking for this?"

The man threw a locket at Trey's feet. He recognized it as the locket needed to reach Andraste's ashes.

"Who are you?", Trey stuttered.

"Did you do this to these people?", Wynne hissed.

The man stepped from the dark. His skin was a mocha color, he had black hair, and his eyes were slate grey.

He answered Wynne, "You think one man capable of doing such a thing? No, it wasn't me. The darkspawn came through this place. I simply hid until they passed through."

"So you abandoned them.", Anders sneered at him.

"What would have one man done against that army? Do you think _I_ could have made the difference?"

"Any of us would have done the same. Tis only survival.", Morrigan defended him.

Trey spoke up, "But you never answered me. Who are you?"

The man smiled, "My name is Elgrin."

* * *

_Happy New Year!_

_Remember the story of Flemeth…It's important ;)_

_And remember…not all stories hold true throughout the years_

_Thanks for reading!_


	17. Orzammar

_Honestly, I love Orzammar, but this quest can sometimes get so mundane. Especially when you are going back and forth between Harrowmont/Behlen and your quest. Uploaded quickly, will probably come back and fix any errors lol_

_Sorry for the lack of creativity in creating a chapter name haha_

_

* * *

_

**Orzammar**

"But, why not?"

"_Because_ you are a woman."

"A _woman_ that saved your life buddy! You made a promise. _Promise_!"

"I cannot fulfill a promise if the task is impossible."

"I remember the word '_anything_' in that promise!"

The same quarreling had been going on for nearly two hours, as they made their way through the woods to Orzammar. If it was any other two people, Alistair would have interjected a long time ago. But Sten could probably kill him with a single punch to the face, and Kate wouldn't hesitate to set his hair on fire! _Not the hair!_

"What would be the point of teaching _you_ such a skill, _mage_?"

Now _that_ Alistair was wondering himself. Kate was, clearly, a very talented mage. Why would she want to learn to fight as a warrior? Alistair doubted very much she could even pick up a two handed sword.

"_Warden_, if you wish to sink a blade into flesh of your foes, perhaps I could teach you some of _my_ skills.", Zevran offered, wagging his eyebrows. Kate gave a crooked grin, causing Alistair's stomach to churn with jealousy.

"Thank you Zev, but that's not really the point. _You_ promised.", she turned back to Sten.

_Zev?_ Alistair fumed over the pet name, and had to remind himself that he couldn't cut the elf's head off.

Sten grumbled for a moment, then finally succumbed, "As you wish. I will start training you after we leave Orzammar. Satisfied?"

Kate smiled in triumph, "Very, thank you!"

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Climbing the mountain to Orzammar was no small feat. The wind whipped wildly atop it's peak, and snow covered the ground. To make things worse, they were climbing up the side of the mountain that the sun wasn't facing. Meaning, it was cold. Extremely cold.

Kate shuddered inside of her thin cloak. _Thank God for Zevran!_, she thought as her feet sank into the crunching snow. If it wasn't for those boots, her feet would soaked from the slushy snow.

Oddly enough, it was Sten who was leading the group to Orzammar, Zevran was close behind him. Kate had fallen behind as soon as they started climbing the mountain. Sandal and Two were cuddling as they rode on the flying rug. Kate wished she could climb on it herself, but doubted the little carpet could carry all three of them. Instead she walked behind the rug, making sure it's passengers were safe.

Alistair stayed behind Kate, remaining uncommonly quiet. Occasionally he would place a hand on her back to support her as she climbed up the peak. She was grateful for the small gesture. As active as Kate was, having gone camping and hiking several times with her friends, she wasn't used to climbing many mountains. Especially one this big.

The silence was very gloomy, and Kate wished for some sort of conversation. She would have even settled for arguing with Sten, if it meant there would be some noise. Not that she blamed her companions, it was hard enough just _breathing_ in the cold wind. Still, she was lonely, and wished her brother was with her.

Thud.

Her thoughts were interrupted by something heavy hitting her shoulders. Soon after she felt the weight of the object, she saw another red, wool cloak draped over her body.

Kate stopped walking and turned to face Alistair, who was _now_ not wearing something to keep him warm. Kate breathed in, opening her mouth to speak. She couldn't decide whether to thank him, or protest his sacrifice, but did neither. Instead she wrapped her arms around him, and rested her head on his rough armor. Her fatigue was becoming too much to bear, and though she knew it was childish, she felt herself starting to cry.

Alistair wrapped his right arm around her shoulder, and knelt down to pick up her legs with his left arm, and allowed her to rest as he held her. Any other time, Kate would have punched him. But she was too tired, too cold, and too grateful.

Her head fell heavily on Alistair's shoulder. Her eyes blinked slowly until they finally closed. She graciously welcomed sleep.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Alistair was more than happy to see entrance to Orzammar, and couldn't wait to get inside, out of the cold. What he didn't want to do, was wake Kate up. Her breath was so calm and peaceful. He could smell her hair and took in her warm scent. That hair looked just as warm as it smelled, so brown and rich, with a red tint shining in the sun.

The peaceful scene before him dramatically changed, when Kate started shaking uncontrollably. She then projected a shrill scream that scared Alistair so much, he dropped her feet to the ground.

Kate continued to flail about and screamed, "DON'T TOUCH ME!"

Grabbing her by the shoulders, Alistair shook her violently, trying to wake her up.

Her eyes shot toward him. After seeing who was holding her, Kate buried her head into her hands and started sobbing. She cried out, "She's going to kill me."

"_Who?_ Who's going to kill you?"

Kate still shook and tears started streaming down her face. Sten and Zevran stopped, staring at Kate in this strange state. She realized where she was, and tried to compose herself.

Alistair asked again, "Who's bothering you? What's wrong?"

Kate dried her eyes with the side of Alistair's red cloak. "Nothing. Just a dream."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

If everything else in this world changed due to Trey and Kate's presence, Orzammar was not included. There was still political feuding and bloodshed in public. The dwarves were a very private and prideful people. Kate felt almost guilty for intruding during their crisis, but the dwarves were necessary if an army was to be built.

Orzammar was _huge_, according to Alistair. Kate had seen bigger structures, but none this impressive. _And to think, it was all carved from this stone!_

As far as who would be King, Kate hadn't really decided who to side with. She knew Pyral Harrowmont was a good, respectable man. And Bhelen? Well, he was not. But she also knew that, in the end, Bhelen would be a stronger leader, and help build a better Orzammar. She wasn't quite ready to make that choice yet, but she didn't have to. She had a plan of her own.

Tapster's Tavern: Home of incredibly drunk small people….and Oghren.

"I'm not sure _drinking_ before we go ask for aid is in our best interest. What are we doing here?", Alistair wondered.

"Improvising."

"_Right_, why doesn't that make me feel any better?"

As they approached one, of the many, drunken dwarves, he started to speak up.

"Well, well. Aren't you a tall dwarf? Pretty too. That or I'm _way_ more drunk than I thought. Either way, _where can I get some sauce for that rump roast?_"

"And _you _must be Oghren. I've been looking for you.", she stated as-a-matter-of-factly.

"Oh I _know_ you've been lookin'.", Oghren laughed.

"I don't think you understand. I am -"

"I sodding know who you are. And I'm not interested in your politics. I suggest you move your pretty little rump on to Prince Behlen."

"Actually, I thought _you _could be more of help to me than _Prince Behlen_. You see, I need to get into the Deep Roads. Word on the street is, we're looking for the same person.", she smiled.

"What do you - Ah, I see. Needing the blessings of a Paragon."

"Precisely."

"Count me in."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Sneaking into the Deep Roads was easier than Kate thought it would be, thanks to Zevran. Kate felt giddy for "cheating" when she thought of the shortcut. In fact, it had been easier to sneak in than it was preparing for the whole ordeal.

First they had to find a place for Sandal and Two. Kate didn't think that Tapster's had also been an Inn. Honestly, she didn't know why Orzammar would have a need for such a place. She didn't think there were _that_ many visitors inside of the city.

But the hardest part had been finding her some knew clothes. She went to the market, thinking she could find some sort of armor. Of course there _was_ armor for sale, but none for _human _females. After failing to find any decent armor for herself, Zevran offered to give her some of his _extra _leathers. Though she had a feeling he was lying about the extra part.

She was now wearing tight, tan, leather pants that were pushed inside of the smooth boots. Her loose, long-sleeved, blueberry colored, cotton shirt was just underneath of her sleeveless, dark brown, leather tunic. It was extremely lucky that they were so close in height and size. There were parts of his leathers that were more snug on her than others. A constant reminder that what she was wearing belonged to a man.

For how difficult this _quest_ usually was, Kate didn't think they were having much trouble at all. She would stay behind the men as they attacked their enemies. Kate would heal them if they got hurt. If they ever ran into a large group of darkspawn, Kate would use her magic to annihilate them. There were times when she would shout out orders, or direct them to another group of enemies. The role of General came naturally to her.

Oghren fought more fiercely than anyone else in battle. Kate thought, perhaps, it was because he was fighting for Branka.

While walking through the great tunnels of the Deep Roads, a noise startled the crew, and they readied their blades for battle. Zevran listened closely to find the source of the noise. All too quickly, it didn't matter, as a dagger flew just past his head.

"Come out of hiding, you sodding nug licker!", Oghren threatened.

Kate was also curious as to where the attacker was, until she felt a sharp blade at her back.

"Turn around slowly _human."_

When she turned, she saw an olive skinned dwarven woman. Her shoulder length hair was as black as coal. Her eyes were a golden honey color. She was, quite pretty, but looked as though she was prepared to take on all five of her enemies.

Oghren spoke up, "Lady Aeducan?"

* * *

_I thought about making this 1 big chapter. But it didn't really seem right when I read it all. Anyway, thanks for reading :)_


	18. Pieces

**Pieces**

Wandering through the mountainside's deep caverns was unnerving, to say the least. What bothered Trey more than anything was that they hadn't come across any cult members yet. When, in game, there plenty.

It made things easy then, but he feared they were all congregated together. Which would mean they would have to fight more than just a small, hand-full of men. There would be an army.

Bodahn cleared his throat, "Do we have need for health poultices?"

Trey turned to him, seeing that he was looting an old crate. "May as well pick them up. We're sure to need them _sometime_."

He was grateful for Bodahn. The man had a knack for finding the most random things. But the most helpful thing that he did was keep up with the money. In game, upon reaching a hundred silver pieces, you would have one gold sovereign. Unfortunately, this wasn't the case in real life. Bodahn created separate pouches for the three different coin types, and somehow he always knew how much money they had.

"Don't dally, we're almost there!", Leliana ordered.

Leliana, of course, had been the one to lead them through the temple and caverns, to Andraste's ashes. She had trouble containing her smiles. Since they had entered the temple, Leliana had been talking to Wynne and Anders about the excitement of finding the ashes. When Anders thought he couldn't hear anymore about the ashes, he would suggest, "Leliana, could you tell us _another_ story of Andraste?" In an attempt to hear _something_ different.

Trey, had stayed behind with their newest companion, Elgrin. Elgrin was, for the most part, a quiet man. He was also very proper in manner, and conversation. To Trey, he was reminded of a businessman, quiet and mild mannered at first, but would destroy you with wit and sarcasm if need be.

Elgrin's face was thin and long. In fact, his face looked quite a bit like Trey's. Except, of course, his ears. Trey had always had large ears that stood out from the sides of his head. He couldn't count the number of times his peers had flicked his ears, teasing him.

Trey tried to make some sort of conversation with him, feeling bad that the rest of the group was already caught up in their own conversations.

"So, where do you come from, Elgrin?"

"Ah, so you are ready to interrogate me, hmm?"

"Just, trying to talk.", he threw his hands in the air.

"My mother and I traveled throughout Ferelden most of my childhood. I don't really know where I hail from. She was desperate to keep me from the hands of the templars."

"So, you are an apostate."

"No. I am a high mage of the court. I've worked hard to attain the title."

"They would give it to an apostate?", Trey asked curiously.

"They would _give it _to _me_."

"So you were trained?"

"My mother wished it."

"And your father?"

Elgrin stared at Trey for a moment, and Trey feared he had went too far. But finally Elgrin spoke, "My father was a nobleman, too drunk to care what happened after the night I was conceived."

"I - I'm sorry."

Elgrin simply nodded.

Trey was then reminded of his own father. He had been wondering about it since they entered the temple. What if Trey could see his father instead of Jowan during his trials? He had so many questions, so many things he needed to hear from his father. He didn't allow himself to get too excited about the idea. It was more probable that Jowan would be the person he saw.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

When they were finally out of the cavern, they made their way down the rocky slope. It was then that Trey took over the position of leading, since he knew more about the area. Morrigan and Trey scouted ahead, as the others stayed behind.

"And if these _ashes_ don't work, what then?", Morrigan asked.

"They _will_ work.", Trey assured her.

"How can you be so sure, hmm? I don't understand why this man, Eamon, is so important anyway. Aren't the soldiers the men who fight the-"

Trey quickly clasped his hand on her mouth, and moved her behind the rock that he was using to hide. Standing in the open area, was a single soldier. Being so far away, Trey could not tell if the soldier was male or female. What he could see, was that the soldier was the only person standing among a mass of dead bodies.

"Stay here. If something happens, get the others." Trey commanded.

His heart pounded with each step he took toward the single person in the field. The closer he came, he could see that he (or she) wasn't moving.

Trey was nearly three feet away from the soldier.

"Turn around, slowly.", Trey demanded.

Still no movement.

Trey reached out his arm to touch the man, and walked forward to face him. Upon touching his arm, it started to crumble in Trey's hands. Trey looked up at the person's face, it was charred to the bone. Trey gasped, taking a step back. The face seemed to be looking up.

Slowly, Trey lifted his face to the sky. On the side of a cliff the high dragon was sleeping above. He gulped loudly, looking down at his feet. Bones were scattered across the small plot of land.

Trey lifted a foot to quietly make it back to Morrigan. Though trying to be as quiet as possible, Trey could still hear the sound of bones cracking under his feet.

His heart jumped at the sound of Morrigan yelling, "What_ are _you doing?"

But any screaming that Morrigan had done, was in no way comparable to the horrifying sound of the dragon's cries.

Trey whipped around, and searched the skies for the dragon. It glided in the air, circling the mountain, until it finally landed. Just in front of Trey.

The dragon lowered it's head down, looking at the curious thing in front of it.

"Easy, easy.", Trey whispered to the beast.

For a moment it seemed to calm down, and looked at Trey curiously. Trey stared at the beast, until he felt something whip past his ear. The dragon growled, another terrifying growl at the sting of Leliana's arrow.

Trey lifted his arms. From his palms blew the cold wind, expelling ice and snow. The dragon's head was frozen, but the rest of it's body was flailing about. It hit the sides of the cliffs above them, causing large rocks to fall from the sky. The group scattered, trying to take cover.

Leliana stayed her ground, shooting arrow after arrow. Anders grabbed her by the arm, pulling her away from a boulder plummeting from the sky. "Easy killer.", he winked, casting protective spells around her.

Elgrin stayed standing in the middle of the field. A gust of wind gushed from his body and toward the dragon. The dragon started stumbling around, disoriented from Elgrin's attack. He then lifted another hand, twisting his fingers about and finally forming a fist. The dragon was now cowering at the sight of him.

Trey was confused by what he was seeing. There were no visible attacks coming from the man, and yet Elgrin was still hurting the dragon, _substantially _from what Trey could tell.

"Enough of this.", Wynne shouted. The sky around them started to darken, and the crash of thunder could be heard. Lightening struck the dragon several times, causing it to screech in pain.

Trey felt sorry for the creature, and a pain of guilt for being the reason it had been subject to such a cruel fate. Finally, the beast fell to the ground.

Walking closer to it, Trey could see it's wet, open eyes. He knelt by it's body, placing a hand on it's head. The rest of his companions closed in on Trey and the creature. He saw it's jagged breath as it's chest rose and fell.

"Leliana, can you rid this creature of it's suffering?"

She nodded, pulling out a large dagger from it's scabbard.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"You have come to honor Andraste, and you shall, if you prove yourself worthy. If you are found worthy, you will see the Un and be allowed to take a small pinch of the ashes yourself.", the ghostly being before them spoke.

Trey answered, "All right, let's get this over with then."

"Before you go, there is something I must ask, I see that the path that lead you here was not easy."

"Trey, before coming to this world you had a dream, a dream of your father. Instead of being cautious of this vision, you were drawn to it. Do you think you are the reason you and your sister were ripped from your world?"

Trey knew it was silly. He knew it made no sense at all, but he did feel as though he was the reason they were there. That, somehow, the curiosity he had when he saw his father with Flemeth had drawn them into that world.

"Yes,", he whispered, "I believe that."

One by one, the guardian asked questions of each of them questions of a personal nature. Trey felt guilty for listening to them, as the guardian talked to each of them.

The last person that he spoke to was Elgrin.

"And you, Elgrin, there was tragedy in your youth, was there not? Do you regret your broth-"

"That's enough spirit! Your prying will lead you nowhere.", Elgrin spat, set on edge.

"Very well. The way is open. Good luck, and may you find what you seek."

Walking through the open doorway, Trey's heart pounded rapidly. Who would he see? What awaited for him?

The sound of a howling wind whipped through the corridor. Slowly, a light mist danced and glittered in the open air. Trey could hear footsteps coming from beyond the wall in front of him. The sound grew louder, and louder, until finally the person revealed themselves.

"Mom?"

"My son,", Bea smiled, "I'm so proud of you."

Of all the people he knew, he had never expected to see his mother. She was a tiny woman. Her face was full, and though you could see that she was aged, she was glowing with beauty. Her hair was just a bit more red than Kate's.

Abruptly, Trey was overcome with fear, "Are you alright? Have you been hurt? You haven't been-" He couldn't finish the sentence. But what other explanation was there for his mother to be a spirit, other than having been killed.

"I'm fine. It's _you_ that has to worry about getting hurt. Where is your sister? Where is Kate?"

Trey lowered his head, "We - we were separated."

"You must find her, and quickly. You must find a way back home. You aren't safe there." Her brow furrowed with concern.

"I will mom, I promise."

Then the woman disappeared, leaving Trey with more questions then had before.

"Come on, let's just get these ashes and get out of here."

* * *

_Oooh Elgrin, so mysterious._

_Thanks for reading. Let me know what you think_


	19. My Blade, My Shield

_Boys and girls, don't die from overexposure to Alistair….you know who you are ;)_

_Please excuse my grammar, it was late when I typed this. Let me know if it's too distracting, and I'll proofread again._

_

* * *

_

**My Blade, My Shield**

Alistair dug his blade at the last of the darkspawn. "Even _more_ darkspawn.", he joked.

"Complaining about the problem we dwarves face everyday?", Sereda Aeducan asked him, her head held back with a wry grin.

Alistair rolled his eyes, standing still as the rest of the group moved on.

As Kate walked by he whispered, "Maybe we _don't_ need the dwarves."

Kate laughed, "Oh no! Did she hurt your man feelings your Worship?"

"All one of them!", he faked crying.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

One by one, long tentacles shot up at them. The broodmother was even more horrendous in real life. Her skin was falling off of her body from rotting. The smell was nearly unbearable. Kate was grateful that she didn't have to be front and center. There were more than enough blades for that job. _Her_ job was to keep everyone healed, which proved to be a more active chore than she thought it would be.

Sereda rolled from one slimy tentacle to the next, chopping them down like twigs coming from the ground. She bared her teeth ferociously at the large monster in front of her. Sereda reminded Kate of a ballerina, well, a deadly one. Her movements were swift and graceful.

As Kate was watching Sereda in awe, she didn't notice a long tentacle reaching it's length around her body.

"No!", she squealed, trying to get free from it's grip. She shifted her weight, trying to become unbound.

The warriors were too busy concentrating on dodging the broodmother's attacks to notice Kate being gripped and stung by the cold tentacle. With her cries being left unheard, she tried to release herself from the monster's grasp. Her hands were bound to the creature, but if she could get one free, she could use her magic. She wiggled and squirmed, while the limb squeezed tighter and tighter.

Finally she wrestled with the thing long enough for one of her hands to escape. Kate lifted her arm in the air and closed her eyes. The magic burst from her like an explosion. The broodmother, and the tentacles around it, erupted into bits of ash all across the floor.

Kate opened her eyes again. She felt weak in the same way that she did when she caused the earthquake. It was a scary sensation that she hadn't wished to feel again. She felt bare to the world, as if she was a rubber band being stretched beyond it's normal elasticity.

Oghren shot out a snort of laughter, "Well I'll be damned Warden! Why didn't you do that before?"

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"The Anvil will help us take back our glory!", Branka's voice rasped in desperation, trying so hard to make the wardens understand her position.

Before anyone could say anything, Sereda spoke up, "You may be a Paragon, but you do _not_ hold the authority to order _me_, Branka."

"Wasn't the Lady Aeducan banned into the stink of the Deep Roads? Betrayed by her own brother?"

"How - how could you know something like that?", Sereda asked with a look of disbelief on her face.

"I roam these Roads, lest you forgot. I was witness to Trian's murder."

Sereda unsheathed her blade, "Could it be that you were _more_ than a witness?"

"You really don't know who his murderer was? I thought you brighter. It was your own brother, Prince Behlen."

Hearing the words ate at Sereda, "I thought - but I had hoped it wasn't so.", she lowered her head, "Very well Branka, I will preserve this Anvil, upon one condition-"

"No!", Kate screamed

But Kate was unable to protest and Sereda unable to name her ultimatum, as a stone fist began to attack Sereda's little body. She hurriedly jumped from it's grasp.

Pulling back, Branka held up a small object in her hands. The tiny control rod turned all of the other golems against Caradin. Their rock bodies smashed into his. Sereda jumped from her position when a large stone foot came toward her torso. She leapt out of it's way and toward Kate. The golems pummeled at Caradin. He stumbled backward until he, along with the whole group of golems, fell off of the cliff, and into the river of lava below.

Kate cried out for the Paragon's unfortunate fate.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"And witness to all of these crimes, our very own living Paragon, the Lady Branka."

Branka stood silently beside of Sereda. She told her account of the story only once. The Assembly listened intently as their living Paragon spoke.

An aged dwarf spoke up, "If these things are true, Behlen must face justice!"

The crowd cheered, rebuking the name of their former prince. Behlen strutted to the middle of the room.

"Sister.", he nodded.

"Behlen, the Assembly has spoken. You _will_ step down. Tomorrow, you will face a public execution."

"Why wait!", Behlen snarled. The crowd gasped as Behlen charged toward Sereda.

At the blink of an eye, Behlen fell to his knees. Looking down at his blood splattered body, Kate saw that the dagger in the middle of Behlen's chest wasn't Sereda's but Zevran's. Sereda looked up at Zevran, who simply nodded.

Prince Behlen was dead, and Lady Aeducan named Queen of Orzammar.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"In honor of the Wardens, tonight, drinks are on the house!", the busty dwarven woman announced across Tapster's Tavern. Cheering and applause filled the pub, as the tavern's band began to play jovial music.

Kate looked at the cards in her hand: One with three yellow diamonds, two with three green diamonds, and two with five red diamonds. It had been Oghren's idea to play Diamondback, the four other men knew how to play. Kate didn't. She hated how dumb she felt while looking at her cards. Now, her companions were looking at her, waiting for her to lay down her hand.

She sighed, "Is this even good?" Kate placed the hand of cards down on the table. The four men groaned, and Alistair slid five of his silver pieces toward her.

"Beginners luck Warden, just you wait I - Hey, where'd my money go?", Oghren drunkenly asked.

Zevran chuckled, "It seems as though you are out of the game, my friend."

"Why I - Ah, sod it, I didn't want to play anymore anyway. More beer?", Oghren offered to fill their cups, though none of them needed it.

Sten excused himself to his room, obviously not amused by the celebration being held for them.

"I had better go look for him. He may be drowning in ale for all we know.", Alistair stated, speaking of Oghren.

After Alistair left, Zevran moved to a chair that was closer to Kate.

"So, I suppose you've had your fill of gifts for one evening, no?", Zevran asked.

It was true, the dwarves had given a lot of gifts to the Wardens for bringing back Branka and Sereda. They were especially nice to Kate, something she hadn't expected. She was given gold and beautiful jewelry. However, the most astonishing gift was to be given to her and Alistair at dawn. The royal armory had measured the two Wardens to make them custom made armor. Kate's, would be made entirely of amber, Alistair's was to be made of onyx.

Kate giggled in response to his question, "I suppose so."

"If it isn't too much to ask," Zevran gave a crooked grin, "I'd like to give you my own gift." Zevran reached from his pack and placed a small dagger on the table.

The dagger was beautiful, it's scabbard was silver with deep markings throughout it's body. The handle of the dagger had a clear bulb at it's tip. The bulb swirled with, what seemed to be, a royal blue mist.

Kate slowly picked up the dagger, unsheathing it from it's scabbard. She lifted her hand to place a finger on it's blade.

Zevran caught her hand, "Ah, I wouldn't do that if I were you. This is an enchanted blade."

"What does it do?"

"Well, that depends. If you are a warrior, it takes away your strength. If you are a rogue, you will be so fatigued that you can no longer fight with speed. But, for a mage, the mana that flows in your body will be completely depleted."

Kate held the weapon, staring at it in awe. She then placed it back in it's sheath.

"Why are you so nice to me?", Kate wondered out loud.

"I can't be _gracious_ to my own leader?", Zevran teased.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that."

"I know, I know. You just, you remind me of someone I once knew. That's all."

Kate reached to squeeze his hand. She couldn't imagine thinking of him the way he said he was with Rinna. He was too kind.

Kate was startled by the sound of Alistair clearing his throat.

"Well I found him. Too bad we can't find his pants.", Alistair laughed, though he didn't seem happy.

"There you are Warden! What'll you have?", Oghren hiccoughed. The serving girl beside of him looked at Kate expectedly.

Kate laughed, "Nothing for me, unless by some miracle you have Mountain Dew."

"Well, I'll be a nugs uncle! You have a fine taste for strong ale!", Oghren shouted.

"I - You're kidding me right? You can't expect me to _actually believe_ there's a drink here called Mountain Dew."

But it was true. The server placed a small, clear glass on the table, in front of Kate. The liquid inside was as clear as water. Kate could hear Oghren convincing the dwarves around them to cheer for her.

"Drink, drink, drink, drink!"

_Here goes nothing_, she thought. Then lifted the glass to her lips.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Kate's body twitched, her watery eyes blurred, then opened slowly.

"What happened? Where am I?", she asked raising her body up.

As soon as she rose up she could feel her head begin to pound. Her fingers massaged her forehead.

"Be careful.", she heard a voice say, then felt a hand on her shoulder.

Kate took a look around her. She was laying in a bed of one of the tavern's rooms. Alistair was sitting next to her with a damp cloth in his hand, pressing it against her head.

"How do you feel?", he asked.

"Sick."

"Here, drink some water."

Alistair pushed an already prepared glass of water in her hands, and helped her lift it to her mouth. The cool liquid soothed her dry throat. Kate let her head rest against the head-board of the bed.

"Where is everyone?"

"Bed. I rented the rooms for everyone after you passed out on stage.", he chuckled.

"_Stage_?", Kate groaned.

"Yeeup. You kept talking about Freddie Mercury, and sang about having 'such a good time'."

"Well _that_ isn't embarrassing at all.", Kate smacked her palm against her forehead.

"Yeah, I'm embarrassed _for_ you.", he laughed.

Kate gave him the empty glass of water, then took the damp washcloth from his hands. She pressed the cloth over her tired eyes.

"Wait a minute.", Kate quickly removed the washcloth, "You rented all of these rooms, checked on Sandal and Two, then took care of me, _by yourself?_"

Alistair shrugged sheepishly.

"I'm proud.", she said grinning.

Alistair took the cloth from her and said, "You should get some sleep."

Kate sighed. If only it was that easy. She had been having terrible nightmares since she had become a Warden. Yet, she had a feeling that being a Warden had nothing to do with her dreams. The truth was, Flemeth seemed to be haunting her, and she was afraid of what that meant.

As if he could read her thoughts, Alistair asked, "Having strange dreams?"

"Only one's where I'm _strangling_ you!"

"_What? _You would do physical harm to _me_?"

They both laughed, and Alistair repositioned himself on the bed.

"Yes, I _am_ having _strange dreams_.", Kate bit her lip in hesitation, "I'm really scared.", she confessed.

"It's going to be okay.", Alistair pulled himself close to her, sitting up in the bed beside her, placing an arm over her shoulder.

Kate rested her head on his chest. "On our way here I had the worst dream I've had."

"What was it?"

"It was Flemeth, I think. Surrounded with maroon colored cloth. She kept talking about a woman named Bernadette Edeline Amell and a promise."

"Isn't Amell _your_ last name?"

"Not my _real_ last name. Anyway, then she let me see these things. I think they're things that are supposed to happen."

"What did you see?", Alistair asked curiously.

"People, they were dying. And this man, I couldn't see his face, but he was saying these weird things. I saw other Grey Wardens, we were about to go to war against the darkspawn. And then -", she stopped talking and looked up at Alistair.

"What is it?"

"The King and the Queen, they were murdered.", Kate's eyes began to water.

"Queen Anora. But the King was killed, remember?"

Kate slowly shook her head, "No. The King was _you_."

At first, Alistair shuddered at her words. But seeing how much it bothered Kate he spoke up, "Nothing's going to happen to me. And I'm certainly not going to be _King_."

Kate simply nodded, stifling back tears.

Alistair decided it was best to change the subject, "So, I saw your new dagger."

"Oh yeah? Now I can take away all of your strength, _oh mighty warrior_.", she turned her body around to face Alistair, and tucked her legs beneath her.

"Oh, I think you already do that.", he grinned sadly.

"What's wrong?"

Alistair chewed on his cheek before asking, "You like him, Zevran, don't you?"

"Well, yeah."

"I see.", he tried not to sound disappointed, "Then, then I won't bother you anymore."

Kate squinted her eyes in confusion, "Wait,", she laughed, "It's not like _that_. I like him, sure. But it's not the same as -"

"Same as what?", he perked up, offering a smile.

"Stop it.", she ordered, "Not the _same_ as what you're thinking."

"So I _shouldn't_ stop bothering you?", Alistair grinned wickedly.

"No, no you _really_ _should_.", she laughed.

"Then can _I_ give you a gift?", Alistair asked earnestly.

As soon as Kate nodded yes, Alistair reached his hand into the pocket of his tunic. In his hand, dangling from a long silver chain was a beautiful charm. The pendant was in the shape of a shield. The inside of the shield was crafted from mother-of-pearl. The outer edge of the shield was wrought with tiny diamonds that completely enclosed it. At it's very tip was a red ruby.

Kate slid her fingers across the shiny necklace.

"Where did you get it?"

"There were these nugs, _man eating _nugs, that were in the Deep Roads you see. Every time I attacked them, they parried my attacks with this little shield.", he whined, "But being a _mighty warrior_, I quickly felled the creatures, and took their pretty shield too!", he ended, embellishing his story with a fake howl of laughter.

"I _see_.", Kate giggled.

"Or, you know, I bought it from a dwarven jeweler. If you don't like it -"

"No, I love it!", she nearly shouted.

Alistair helped her put on the necklace after she took off her amulet.

Kate hugged him, then yawned into his shoulder.

"You should probably get some sleep now.", Alistair stood up.

Kate reached for his hand, "Wait, aren't you going to stay?"

Alistair blushed, "_You_ are a lady, I can't -"

"Just until I fall asleep?", Kate pleaded.

Alistair sighed, slipping back onto her bed. With Alistair petting her hair, it wasn't long before Kate fell into a deep sleep.

When she woke up, Alistair was gone, but a rose was placed next to her pillow. Kate cursed her own heart for fluttering.


	20. Reunions and Revelations

_Hi gang. Glad to be writing again : )_

_MAD PROPS to my frequent readers! Thanks for sticking with me!_

**If you read no other chapter in it's entirety, read this one…it's important ;)**

_It's been a very, very busy month. Basically, I have two jobs right now (sort of). This whole teaching thing, not so easy haha. So you will probably see shorter chapters for a while. And though I desperately need to finish 'Alistair Theirin vs. The World' (which I highly suggest, by the way *winky*), I really can't pull myself away from this story._

_I can't wait to hear your reactions when the plot all unfolds. Some of you probably already know where I'm going with this. There are parts that, I feel, are pretty obvious. But who knows._

_Anyway, let me know your theories (if you have any) : )_

_

* * *

_

**Reunions and Revelations**

Moonlight spilled onto the glassy water of Lake Calenhad. Kate closed her eyes and felt the cool wind that blew toward her. She could feel the damp ground underneath the weight of her body, and cold wetness moistened her cloth clothes.

She had strayed away from their campsite to sit by the calm lake. They had been following the lake to make their way toward Redcliffe. Kate had assumed her brother would be coming back to bring the ashes. Or at least she had hoped he would. Truth be told she was worried about him. It had been weeks since she had seen him last, and their parting wasn't very smooth, to put it lightly.

From the darkness of the forest behind her, a twig snapped. The loud noise didn't scare Kate, or even provoke her to move.

"Stalker.", she called out.

"I could be _anyone_ you know, any _thing_.", A voice replied.

"Whatever. Are you going to sit down, or what?"

Alistair tiptoed toward the lakeside. He stayed standing, looking up at the sky. Glowing stars were sprinkled across the dark blue sky. Outlines of dark black clouds sailed across the vast sky.

"It's beautiful, isn't it? Makes you want to stay here forever. Too bad a blight is threatening our _entire_ existence.", Alistair joked, but sighed at the truth in the statement.

If there wasn't a blight, they _could_ stay there forever. They could watch the sky, live life, and not feel the heaviness of their responsibilities.

"Yeah, too bad."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Trey twisted and squeezed his hands together, worry written across his face. It had been nearly a half an hour ago since Wynne and Anders disappeared into the Arl's chambers with the small pinch of Andraste's Ashes. The minutes seemed to take longer than usual, and Trey was beginning to worry that the ashes had failed. He stood in the dining hall pacing from one side of the wall to the next.

Morrigan sat at the end of a long bench, staring into the large fire, stirring in it's pit. Elgrin sat at the opposite end of the bench, inspecting his fingernails, checking for dirt. When the man finally looked up from his immaculate set of nails, he cleared his throat, staring at Trey.

"You've been pacing since we got here.", he stated calmly.

Trey simply nodded, a bit too nervous to speak. He didn't care for the thought of losing the most important asset in this 'game' they were playing. Certainly Eamon helped a great deal in the game. He could only imagine that it would be the same in real life.

To satisfy Elgrin, Trey finally sat down, staring nervously at his hands.

"You aren't from Ferelden.", Elgrin spoke up.

"I'm not from this world.", Trey stated lamely. He had explained it way too many times.

"So I gathered, from your mother."

Trey felt a wave of heat come across his face. Everyone had seen his mother's concern for him. This was, to him, meant to be a private moment between son and mother. But of course they weren't the only people present. Leliana had been especially nice to him after the encounter with his mother's spirit.

"So, why are you here?", Elgrin asked.

"No clue.", Trey laughed half heartedly, "Someone must have wanted us here though. They even made the people at the Tower believe we had been studying there for years."

"You believe someone used magic to do this?"

"Morrigan said her mother has used that sort of magic before. Magic that gives someone false memories."

"Lethe."

"What?", Trey asked.

Elgrin explained, "The magic that you are talking about, it is the magic of Lethe. To dissolve one's memory, and create a new one."

"Do _you_ know how to use it?"

Elgrin looked away, "It takes a powerful mage to cast that kind of spell, especially a permanent one. And besides, you must be born with the talent, you cannot simply practice it."

Trey was grateful that now he knew what magic had been used to fool the First Enchanter. It must have truly taken a powerful mage to make all of the Tower's residents believe that he and Kate had been living there their whole lives. Trey could only think of one mage powerful enough to do such a thing, Flemeth.

He was convinced, now more than ever, that she had been the reason he and his sister were plunged into this world.

The silence that had fallen upon the dining hall was interrupted by the large double doors opening. All three mages stood up, as Teagan entered the room. Tears were steadily streaming down his face.

Trey grasped at his stomach, for fear that it's contents may be lost. _Oh shit, I killed the Arl!_

"Maker bless you Warden!", Teagan smiled, placing a hand on Trey's shoulder.

"He's okay? He's awake?"

"He's wonderful. His memory seems a bit foggy, but he _is _healthy, and that's all that matters."

"Where is he?"

"He's talking to his wife at the moment. He will need to rest for today. But by morning, you'll be able to speak to him."

Trey finally exhaled, huffing out a large breath, marking his relief over the situation.

Teagan chuckled at Trey's obvious signs of anxiety, "Don't worry son. All is well! And tonight, we will feast in your honor!"

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Music played and people sang merrily of the Arl's awakening. As happy as most of his companions were, Trey was still mulling things over in his mind. He wondered what the Arl would say to him the next morning. _Would he wonder where Alistair was? Would he still want to place Alistair on the throne? Would he ask them to first find the Dalish elves?_

Nothing was certain, Trey knew that much. Still, he tried to remain calm. After all, there was nothing that could be done until morning. He thought it best to try to enjoy himself while he could.

The dancing and revelry of the townspeople was comforting, at least. Trey was grateful that Teagan had been gracious enough to hold such festivities in their honor.

"Trey!", Leliana's face beamed with joy, as she danced toward him.

All Trey could think was,_ Please, please, not another story about Andraste!_

But when the music stopped playing, and the people stopped dancing, Trey knew that _something_ was happening. He couldn't see exactly what it was, until the mass of people parted at the castle's entrance.

Entering the doors, was a familiar group of travelers.

"Sandal!", Bodhan's voice boomed. He ran to his son, collapsing at the boy's feet.

Trey rose up, breathing in heavily. He rubbed his eyes, to make sure they weren't playing tricks on him. But when he looked back, he still saw his sister leading the group of warriors toward him.

She looked like she just walked out of a pirate movie. Gold rings sparkled on her dainty fingers. They all had enough gold on them that they could have just looted the Queen of England.

"Brother.", she gave a smile, and stuck out her hand as a gesture to shake hands.

Trey moved her hand out of the way and scooped her into his arms.

"I missed you.", he confessed.

Her body felt hard against his, and he pushed her back to get a look at her.

"You look….different.", his voice shook, as he could barely contain his excitement.

Indeed, she had changed quite a bit. He had never seen her so short before, and her armor had not indicated that she was the mage that Trey knew her to be. It was honey colored, and spun around her body like wrapping taffy around your finger. It was smooth and shiny. The leggings of her armor were black, with one leg donning a silver dagger.

The rest of her crew seemed different too. They all looked tired and worn from their journey.

As the music started playing again, the companions began to greet each other happily. Anders seemed particularly happy to be in the company of his fellow pranksters again. Trey thought it was funny that Anders and Alistair got along so well considering Alistair had once been a templar.

"From the looks of things, we have quite a bit to talk about.", Trey chuckled.

"Quite.", Kate confirmed.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Kate listened carefully as Trey told her about finding Elgrin. She was shocked by the fact that he had seen their mother while searching for the ashes.

"Why would our mother know where we are?", she wondered out loud.

"Who knows if that was even her. I don't know what to believe here.", Trey shook his head.

The thing that had worried Kate most was what Trey had learned about the magic called "Lethe". Trey explained to her that he was sure Flemeth was the one who had sent them to Ferelden.

Kate sighed, hesitant to tell him the truth, "I've been having dreams of her. I think, maybe, she's trying to tell me something. At first I was scared, but she keeps showing me these things."

"Like what?", Trey asked, concerned for his sister.

"Like things that are happening. But in _every_ dream she talks about this woman, Bernadette Edeline Amell. _Who is that?_ Do you think Morrigan knows?"

But there was no need for Morrigan, Trey had heard the name before, "Bernadette. That was the name of the lady from Leliana's story."

"What? _What _story?"

Trey tried to re-tell the story that Leliana had told him so many nights ago. He felt, of course, that he didn't tell it with as much enthusiasm, but at least he remembered all of the important parts of the story. As he told Kate about the secret promise Bernadette made to Flemeth, Kate's eyes became wide.

"Yeah, Flemeth said something about that in my dream! We _have_ to find this woman, maybe she can help us."

Trey rolled his eyes, "So how are we supposed to do that, _exactly_? We have no clue where she is, or if she's still _alive_ even."

"It's the only plan we've got.", Kate told him somberly.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Kate pressed her hands against the wood of the sill of the door, and spun her way out of Trey's room.

Thump! With a suddenness that took Kate by surprise, her body collided into Alistair's.

"_Shocker_.", her voice was wet with sarcasm.

"_What?_ I was just on my way to my room! It was _you _who jumped out at _me_.", Alistair countered.

"Sure, sure. Whatever you have to tell yourself."

"So, _you're _stalking _me_ now. Your _fatal attraction_ is obvious. _I fear for my safety you know._", Alistair smiled wickedly.

At first, Kate felt a smile growing on her face, but she caught herself. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of actually thinking he was _funny_.

"I'm a _lady_ remember?"

"Oh-ho, you were sober enough to remember that? Then tell me, were you sober enough to remember your confession of _undying love_, how sweet you think my eyes are, and that I'm _'charming'_?"

Her breath stopped instantly. Heart pounded. Knees buckled. _She didn't actually say those things…did she?_

The worry must have been easy to read, since Alistair began snickering uncontrollably.

"You jerk!", is all that managed to make it's way out of Kate's mouth.

"_Oh, so you do care_. Good to know."

With this, her blood began to boil. He had tricked her, and was_ laughing _about it.

"You are the most heinous, wicked, EVIL man I have ever met. No, don't speak!", she added when he opened his mouth, then all that came out was more laughter.

She began again, "OH! You think you're _clever_ now, hmm? I should have let that _Broodmother_ eat you up. Well, _your Worshipfulness,_ let me tell you something, I -"

"I love you.", he said calmly, without a movement save for the breath that moved his body.

Confused, and staring back at his steady eyes, Kate rolled her eyes, then whispered, "I know."

She closed her eyes quickly, not wanting to see his reaction. She cursed herself for not being able to say it back. _Is it because he's still 'unreal' to me? Because I know that our relationship would be star-crossed, doomed from the beginning? Or is it my pride that gets in the way?_

She couldn't see him, but she felt him, smelled him, and heard him say, "Goodnight."

And finally she felt the sweet taste of his lips touching hers.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

With his arms folded behind his head, sprawled across the bed, Trey stared up at the blank ceiling. Though it was late night, he couldn't sleep. His head was swimming with questions. He tried to piece everything together in his mind, but nothing was adding up. If they _did_ have to find Bernadette, he didn't know the first place to look for her. It would be great if they could return to Flemeth's hut, but he figured it was probably flooded with darkspawn. He thought about Kate's dreams, and wondered why he wasn't having the same _visions_.

He tossed in his bed, then finally resolved to getting up.

"Bernadette Edeline Amell. Bernadette Edeline Amell.", he chanted the words aloud, as though hearing them would reveal some hidden mystery.

_In his head he imagined the story, over and over._

"Bernadette Edeline Amell."

_Why did they share a last name?_

"Bernadette Edeline Amell."

_Two children, a daughter and a son._

"Bernadette Edeline Amell."

_A beautiful mother, with curly red hair._

"Bernadette Edeline Amell."

_Why did it seem so familiar?_

"Bernadette Edeline Amell."

His body stopped pacing. His eyes opened quickly. And from his lips came three letters:

**B.E.A**

He gasped at his revelation, and whispered quickly to himself, "B.E.A. Bea. _Mom_?"

* * *

**Please review! I need your thoughts on this one :)**


	21. Game Plan

**Game Plan**

The morning was cold, but beautiful. Dew was still on the ground as Trey sat in the courtyard watching Sten train Kate.

He couldn't imagine _why_ she would want to learn how to fight, but knew better than to ask her. Of course he knew she always liked smashing things with swords and being Queen of Ferelden in game. He hadn't expected her to actually start smashing things in real life.

Trey really wanted to talk to Kate about their mother. He had been thinking of it the whole night, and found his mind couldn't rest.

Trey knew that _if _their mother was Bernadette, it meant that they were born in Ferelden and that their father had tried to kill them. He was having trouble wrapping his mind around that. Of course, he knew that not all tales were true. It was certainly a probability that their father had just died, that the whole 'killing his children' bit could be a way to embellish the story.

But that made things even more complicated. Just the night before, Trey believed he had very real memories of his father. Of his father's death. Of his childhood.

He thought of what Elgrin had told him about Lethe. Lethean magic was the only thing that could explain their predicament, and if that was true, Trey knew it was bad.

He also knew that all of this was something his sister needed to know, but had trouble finding the right words to say.

"You focus on using the wrong parts of your body to move the blade. You must use your whole arm. Your weapon is an extension of your body. Try again."

Kate lunged at Sten with the two-handed sword that Sten had insisted she use. Forcefully, she pushed all of the strength of her back into the swing. Her wrists twisted upward to send the blade toward him, and then - snap!

If the snapping of her bone hadn't been loud enough to gain the attention of all of Redcliffe, then screaming that burst from Kate's throat probably did.

She clenched her teeth at the overwhelming pain. Finally she placed the opposite hand over her broken arm, using magic to mend her bones. Coolness seeped deep into her flesh and chilled her whole arm. The magic had quickly soothed her pain.

"You've been watch the elf fight, but _you_ are not a rogue. You're pushing with your shoulders and wrists. The blade is too heavy to lift with your wrists, you must use your whole arm. Tighten your torso muscles!", Sten grumbled.

"I'm trying!", Kate whined.

"Not enough."

_Why did I want to do this again?_

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Alistair! It's - it's so good to see that you are well, at least.", Arl Eamon greeted the Grey Wardens.

Though the Arl offered generous smiles and a warm welcome, his face suggested that he was worn beyond what his body could stand. Wrinkles were set deep in his face. The man looked old enough to be at his deathbed, but Trey knew him to be only fifty-two years old.

Eamon cleared his thoat, "Uh, _well_, I hope everything has been comfortable for you here."

"Quite.", Trey smiled.

"Oh good.", Eamon hesitated a moment before he spoke again, "I will be blunt with you Wardens, the situation is desperate. With you three running around as fugitives, it will be quite difficult to present the monarchy with an army. Our Queen is still _quite_ intent on sentencing every Warden and soldier who 'abandoned' the King with treason."

The Arl coughed at the straining the words had caused on his throat. Quickly he drank from the goblet in front of him.

"_Treason_? But surely the Queen _can't_ execute the _whole army_?", Alistair asked.

Teagan answered, "Of course she can, she's the Queen. I even hear that she has exiled that poor girl, what was her name? _Kathryn? Cauthrien?_"

Even more outraged, Alistair cried out, "But what guards or generals would carry out these orders? _What army does she have that would kill it's own members_?"

Eamon regained his voice, "_Her_ army isn't needed. Arl Howe has gladly offered the services of his militia. And it is rumored that those same soldiers killed the Cousland family in cold blood."

Kate rolled her eyes, "This is all _fine and dandy_, but what do we _do_ exactly? Do you plan to call a Landsmeet?"

"I would rather talk to the Queen first. If there is one person she _may_ listen to, it would be you, Alistair. She would never harm one of Maric's children, out of respect for the man. It's possible that you could speak to her as an _ambassador_ for the Grey Wardens."

Trey asked, "And if she doesn't listen?"

The Arl shook his head, "Then we would _have_ to openly oppose the Queen. It would be easy enough. She has commoners and noblemen alike in an uproar. I wouldn't take a decision like this lightly though. Considering her actions, this could very well end with Anora's head on a golden platter. And, since Alistair is the only living heir, it would be imposed upon him to take up the crown."

"Me! But I thought -"

"Alistair, I may be Rowan's brother, but _you_, you're the son of King Maric. The grand-son of the Rebel Queen. And as for myself, well, _I_ am an old man, in need of a stout beer in fact.", Eamon half-heartedly laughed.

"Okay, wait. I _still_ don't know what's going on.", Kate interjected.

"You have been building an army. Are there any others you can call upon?", Eamon asked.

Trey answered, "We have yet to find the Dalish."

Eamon took in a gulp of breath, "Then I will go to the Queen first. I'll talk to her about Alistair, and try to reason with her while you are recruiting the Dalish. There is a very small village called Bravillin just outside of Denerim city. Before you come to Denerim you will need to meet me at Bravillin's inn. There I can tell you if it is safe to enter the city. You _cannot_ freely walk into the city, do you understand?"

Trey was shocked at the level of severity in his voice. Everything seemed much more tense than he realized it would.

The three of them nodded, silently agreeing to his plan.

The Arl sighed, "I hadn't planned on sending children to do the work of an aged veteran. But I suppose these things are never _planned_, are they? Well, we know our course. I will head out on the morrow. You are welcome to stay another night if you wish."

Kate turned to the men at her right, "It would probably be best. We haven't had the chance to get new equipment, and it would be dark before we left the town."

Trey agreed, thankful for another chance at a restful night. And another opportunity to talk to his sister about their parents.

As they left the Arl's dining quarters, and walked into the courtyard the three Wardens remained uncommonly quiet. The gravity of their situation was hovering in the air like a thick fog that had the potential to smother you.

They stopped in the courtyard, facing the town.

Alistair began to walk off toward the large wooden gate, until Kate's voice stopped him.

"Hey.", she called out, voice nearly breaking off. She stared at him.

Trey watched them as their eyes seemed to hold a private conversation.

"It'll be okay.", Alistair finally told her, then gave a wink and walked off.

Anything Kate was thinking about disappeared after Alistair offered the small gesture. And, in spite of herself, she smiled crookedly.

Finally understanding the scene before him, Trey rolled his eyes, "_Seriously_?"

"What?", she quickly asked.

Imitating a female voice, Trey replied, "_Oh Alistair, you're so dreamy! Let me look deep into your beautiful, beautiful eyes!_"

Trey fluttered his own eyelashes in exaggeration.

"Shut up.", she warned him.

"I'm _so_ throwing up right now."

"Good. You deserve it."

Trey laughed. Even if the world had gone to shit, he could still tease his sister.

_For those of you following this story and/or 'Her Shadow', my stories will not be updated very regularly for a while. I had really hoped to finish this story much sooner, and I apologize for that. Thank you all for sticking with this story. And I promise I will try, to the best of my ability, to continue getting you semi-regular updates._


	22. Enemy Within

_Okay OMGs I just want to say freakin Dragon Age 2 made my story sound like Trey and Kate are Hawkes. They aren't, if you haven't caught it yet, they are the children of Bernadette and Ephairm. Bernadette is supposed to be the Amell with the baby (babies) in the tower. Which was another woman according to DA2 (oh well)_

_And the whole Anders thing, not sure what I'm going to do with that yet, but we'll see._

_Honestly DA2 added a lot for me to work with for a sequel :D _

_A lot of things happen in this chapter : ) Hope you enjoy it. _

_

* * *

_

**Enemy Within**

_If only I had a controller in my hand right now, _Trey thought as they trudged through the rough wilderness. The deep forests seemed to have no end. Trey was sure that Morrigan had no clue where they were going, though she strutted confidently through the woods, slightly in front of Alistair.

"We aren't even using this map. Do you know where we are?", Alistair asked. He stared intently at the light brown parchment which revealed a map of Ferelden.

"If I didn't need a map, you wouldn't be walking beside of me.", she glowered at him.

Trey rolled his eyes, "This was much funnier in-game.", he muttered to himself.

Trey felt grateful that some of their friends had stayed at Redcliffe. Bodhan and Sandal decided to stay with the Arl and accompany him to Denerim. Kate insisted that Peep Two stay with Sandal to keep him company. Trey was glad that at least _they_ didn't have to endure the unpleasantness of this trip so far.

Since they had left Redcliffe, Morrigan and Alistair's mood had become infectious. Trey could see irritability and weariness written across the face of all of his companions. The only person who seemed even slightly happy was Anders, who had been humming happily to himself. Even Wynne seemed flustered (probably at Anders).

Elgrin was, well, Elgrin. He still had his nose stuck in the air, keeping quiet to himself. Though no one really delighted in talking to him, Kate was particularly annoyed by him. She stayed away from him as much as possible, and confided to Trey that she felt uncomfortable around him. Trey didn't understand what the fuss was about. He had talked to Elgrin, one might even say that he had befriended him. And though Elgrin was in no way the friendliest person Trey had ever met, he didn't seem to be a bad person. Just extremely self centered.

On top of the fact that everyone had a pissy attitude, it was hot and humid. Trey really wished it would just rain so it wouldn't be so damn hot anymore.

"Wait, can we just stop for a moment.", Kate called out before resting her forehead on the nearest tree.

"The longer we wait, the longer we will have to travel." Morrigan said, abandoning her usual unpleasant tone for a more sympathetic one.

Morrigan knew why Kate was so tired, and felt guilt in partially being the cause. Trey thought it was silly, she couldn't very well control what Kate was dreaming. But at least she was being thoughtful.

Kate also hadn't taken the news of their mother very well. Trey could tell that she was a bit apprehensive about the idea, but he couldn't shake the feeling that their mom was, in fact, Bernadette. Since Kate had learned about Trey's theory, she had been having more terrifying nightmares than usual. She was so exhausted that her eyes pained from lack of sleep.

"Actually, it's probably a good time to set up camp.", Trey told her, as he looked up at the darkening sky.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

The fire popped, emanating a beautiful orange glow around the camp, the rest of the camp was black. The usual laughter and story telling was absent, as most huddled around the warm fire. Some rested wearily against the ground, others sharpened their weapons, Kate sat silently, staring into the fire.

"How far away do you think we are?", Leliana gingerly asked Morrigan.

"We should reach the Dalish tomorrow, assuming they have stayed in the same place all this time. Very doubtful.", Morrigan answered bluntly.

Morale was low, and Trey couldn't think of anything to motivate his friends, save listening to Oghren's belligerent joking. Too bad he was already passed out drunk.

Trey sat beside of his sister, wishing she would say something. Her energy would have surely made the night a bit more enjoyable.

"Are you feeling alright?", he finally asked her.

"Sure."

"Do you need anything?"

She didn't answer.

Alistair, who had been listening, sat on the other side of her. Trey rolled his eyes. Did he not think he knew his own sister better than he did?

Alistair nudged her shoulder, "Katy?"

"_Katy?", _Trey raised an eyebrow. It was one thing to be clingy, but now he was giving her a new name? Maybe he _didn't_ like Alistair after all.

Finally, Kate raised her face, "I need sleep."

Alistair continued, "Are you sure you're al-"

"I said I'm fine!", she snapped, and walked toward her tent.

Dejection was written across Alistair's face.

"Better get used to that. She takes sleep seriously. Just ask Judy Tapisk's mother.", Trey laughed. Though he also thought she was acting a bit off.

"Yeah.", Alistair sighed.

"Well, we had better get some sleep. It's going to be a long day tomorrow."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

It was Elgrin's shift to watch camp for the night. And though he was only watching for an hour, he wasn't surprised to see Kate sitting across from him.

"I suppose you don't trust my ability to watch camp?", he sneered.

"I don't know you. Why should I trust you?"

"That's somewhat of a paradox, considering you let the _assassin _take his shift uninterrupted."

Kate squinted her eyes, glowering at him.

Elgrin smiled at his small victory, turning his head back toward the fire.

A deeper voice pressed it's way through Kate's throat, "A sharp tongued boy. Just like your father."

Elgrin was taken aback by the familiarity of her voice, "What did you say?", his voice faltered.

He turned to face Kate. Staring back at him were two, large, yellow eyes.

His breath was taken from him, "Flemeth?"

Elgrin whipped out his staff seconds too late. Kate shot a blast of fire toward him. His arm was burned, but quickly he healed himself and pulled into a defensive stance.

Kate's hands pressed against her face, feeling her skin. She stretched her hands back to comb strands of hair through her fingers, as if she was feeling skin and hair for the first time.

Elgrin shot an arcane bolt at the girl, who quickly deflected the offensive attempt.

It didn't take long for the others to wake up to the sounds of their fighting.

Trey pressed through the crowd, walking toward Kate and Elgrin.

He screamed, "_What_ is going on?"

Elgrin answered quickly, "This _girl_ is an abomination! She must be stopped!"

"You can try!", Kate smiled.

"What do you mean she's an abomination? Why are you attacking my sister?", Trey shouted at him for the serious accusation.

Kate snorted, "She is no abomination. I am simply inhabiting her body, for now." Trey could then hear that the voice wasn't Kate's.

Trey quickly composed himself, "You must have a reason for doing this."

Flemeth answered, "Must I now? And what purpose do you think I have?"

"It doesn't matter what I think. You will leave now.", Trey commanded.

"You can't keep me away forever. A promise was made."

The group stood around Trey and Kate, watching their every move. Tension was thick in the air.

Kate stretched out her arms, forcefully shoving everyone away from herself.

Trey jumped back up on his feet. He wedged Kate's face between his hands.

"Trey? What's happening?", Kate cried, coming back to herself. She looked around her at the people who were strewn across the ground.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

From the events of the night before, looking for the Dalish was beginning to wear Kate's sanity. She could feel her companions watching her, and it was humiliating. Especially when she would catch Alistair staring at her. She knew he was just concerned, but it still bothered her.

Trey stayed next to her, keeping her away from Elgrin. He had talked to Wynne and Anders about possible ways to deal with Flemeth. Though they hadn't come to a clear answer, it was Trey's hopes that the Dalish Keeper would be able to help them.

Trey was so preoccupied with his thoughts, that he was shocked to hear a voice calling to them.

"What business do you have here?", the archer aimed his shot toward Trey.

When Trey finally looked up at the archer's face, instead of meeting the eyes of a Dalish elf, he looked into the face of a fellow Warden.

"Daveth?"

* * *

_Ah! Bet you didn't remember that Daveth survived along with a group of Grey Wardens ;) _

_Please Please Please review. I'm not sure how clear I was in this chapter. And I would like to change anything that is causing confusion! Thanks!_


	23. Oh Sister

"_**Oh Sister" **__is a beautiful Bob Dylan song that just goes along so well with this story, and particularly this chapter. I highly suggest it : )_

_I can't believe we are so close to the climax of this story :D _

_It's almost over now, which is kind of sad since this was my first fan-fic. I'm predicting around 6 - 7 more chapters. _

_There may be a __**sequel**__, because I have set it up for there to be one. But that mostly depends on reader response to the end of the story. In other words - -hope you like it!_

* * *

**Oh Sister**

"Daveth?" Trey's mouth gaped in awe at the man he had never expected to see again.

Daveth relaxed the string of his bow, lowering it to his side. "Wait a minute." He gasped considering the company before him, "If it isn't you lot from Ostagar. Thought you were darkspawn feed for sure!"

"Did the others survive as well?" Kate perked up, remembering the small band of Grey Wardens that had managed to escape the battlefield.

Daveth bowed his head, "There are only five of us left. Out of the men who _did_ survive, many of them were executed at the Queen's orders. She was even fixin' to execute her own armies. Got some of their bunch with us, bout' fifteen."

"Executed?" Alistair faintly whispered.

Trey nodded his head, "Eight Grey Wardens, huh? Better than two." He chortled at the dark joke that could only be shared with his sister. The others waited for an explanation that Trey would never give.

Daveth smiled, "True that, I guess. The other Wardens say we are the only ones who can stop this Blight. I'd like to know how that's possible with only eight of us and a handful of elves."

"Handful of elves?" Trey inquired.

"Sure. We found a tribe of Dalish elves out in these woods. Helped 'em out a bit I suppose."

Kate whispered, "Zathrian."

"The old one? Yeah sure. Needed us to take care of some dogs for him." Daveth laughed to himself.

"And I suppose you just _killed_ them!" Kate shouted indignantly, stricken with horror for the fate of the creatures.

"They were _werewolves_ Sweet, couldn't quite tame one of their lot. Don't worry your pretty head though. None of them are left to do anyone else more harm."

Trey ignored their small spat, remaining focused on the task at hand, "Zathrian? Where is he? We need his help."

"Follow me, I'll take you to him."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Well, if it isn't Junior!" Hector laughed, patting at Alistair's shoulder.

Alistair laughed, distractedly watching his friends talk to Zathrian. There was a strange feeling of separation between the Wardens and the rest of the motley crew Alistair had come to know as his new family. It was like oil meeting water, and Alistair was caught in the middle.

The rest of the crew respectfully stayed at their distance as Alistair caught up with the four men that Duncan had introduced him to so long ago. Though, he wished one of them would come and interject soon. More than anything he wished he could be talking to Zathrian along side of the quirky brother and sister duo he had fondly taken to.

Hector, Claudas, Darell, and Nathan chatted with Alistair on times not so long ago.

Hector lead the lot of them through the wilderness. He had seen the darkspawn mercilessly devour his brothers, and watched the _bitch_ Queen finish them off. It wasn't like the mighty Grey Wardens to sulk off into hiding, but what was going as planned now-a-days? Hector had enough on his mind keeping his lot safe, adding the rest of Ferelden just made it that much more difficult.

Darell and Nathan, twin brothers, asked Alistair about his travels and the _mage_ Wardens. Alistair was hesitant to speak without his companions. Claudas, the silent giant, nudged Daveth closer into the group. Even further isolating Alistair from his companions.

"Well it's a long story.", Alistair started. His brothers were content to listen carefully.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Asha'bellanar?" Zathrian gasped, eyes wide, and mouth agape.

"Sure. Whatever." Trey spoke quickly, "We just need to find a way to _separate_ them. I suppose."

"Young man, I don't know what you think _I_ am capable of. Asha'bellanar is a being of great mystery."

"But there has to be _something_ we can do!" Kate cried.

Zathrian looked on the child with deep pity. "I'm sorry, truly, I am. But I fear there is nothing I can do."

"Is there no one who can help us?" Trey asked in desperation.

Zathrian considered his question, and hesitantly replied, "There is one who could - but no one has seen her in years."

"We have to try." Trey wearied.

The brother and sister Wardens were surprised to hear Morrigan's voice command, "I'm coming with you."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Trey wondered why Morrigan was so intent on following them, but didn't have the balls to ask. He also wondered how she seemed to know exactly where to go, and finally found the nerve to voice his skepticism.

"So, Morrigan…yeah. Why are we going this way again?"

She didn't answer, simply scoffed at his questioning.

Trey pressed on, "No seriously. If you don't know where you're going we need to find someone who may know."

"I _know_! Tis as simple as that. If you wish an explanation, perhaps you should wander in the wilderness until Flemeth consumes your sister." Morrigan hissed.

"We aren't going to be -"

"Hush! I think this is it." Morrigan tilted her head toward the entrance of a cave. It's opening was covered in moss and thin tree branches.

"No one's going to live there! It hasn't been touched in years." Kate huffed.

Morrigan looked ahead, uninterested in Kate's opinion of the matter. She moved closer to the old cave, clearing it of leaves and twigs.

They entered the dark crevasse slowly. Morrigan lifted her arm. In her hand, was a set of tiny rings that glowed in the darkness.

"The blood rings?" Trey queried as they moved deeper into the cave.

"Someone is here. I feel it." Morrigan whispered. Trey thought she had never seemed so focused. She peered into the darkness and closed her fingers across the rings, causing their glow to dim. In the distance, another light could be seen.

The three of them followed the light. Trey looked behind him, and could not see the light from the cave's entry. It was difficult to keep their footing with the slippery ground, and Kate would often grab Trey's arm for support.

They were feet away from the small light when it dimmed to complete darkness. As quickly as the light went out a glow filled the cave entirely.

Trey's heart raced at the sudden turn of events and yelped, "Who's there?"

"I've been waiting for you." The raspy voice called out.

"Where are you? Show yourself." Trey demanded.

From the shadows, a tiny Elven woman emerged and walked gracefully toward them.

Her robes were tattered and darkened from their original color, which Trey was unable to determine. Trey could tell that, whoever the woman was, used to be very attractive. He could see traces of beauty in her full lips and high, pronounced cheek bones. Her cocoa skin was now wrinkled and aged. Her hair had countless small braids, adorned with seashells at the tips. There were a few strands of silver hair that stood out against her otherwise black mane.

She walked closer toward Trey, placing her small hand on his face. "You were so young when I last saw your face. Now you are a man."

Trey queried, "Do I know you?"

"I'm sure you don't remember. You were a babe then." The woman became lost in her memory, then finally introduced herself, "My name is Freya."

Trey and Kate looked at each other, taken aback by her identity.

"_The_ Freya? From the story." Kate gasped.

"Then you know what happened to us?" Trey asked.

Frey scraped a finger across her slender neck, indicating: death.

"What really happened that day?" He pressed, still unable to believe his father could commit such a horrifying act.

"I do. It is, however, not my story to tell. I suggest questioning your mother." Freya replied.

Kate rolled her eyes and scoffed, "Why would it matter who told us?"

"It's a personal matter between a mother and her children. Who am I to speak of it."

Trey interjected, "It's okay. I know how much you have helped us already. We are in your debt. But we need your help again."

"My mother seems intent on _pestering_ this one." Morrigan motioned to Kate.

"Flemeth." Freya stated.

"We don't really know what's happening, but we need to get her _out_ of my sister." Trey explained.

"Flemeth's will is her own. If you want her to leave, why not speak to her yourself?" Freya suggested.

Trey turned to his sister who was standing completely straight, head thrown back. When she lifted her head, her cheeks were flushed and eyes burned yellow and orange.

"You wish to eradicate me. I assure you, it is a mistake." Kate cackled, though it wasn't her voice speaking.

"Why are you doing this? If you wanted to kill us, I'm sure it wouldn't be hard for _you_. But you hide within my sister is cowardice!"

"Oh you think so?" She laughed deeply.

"What do you want?"

"I've told you. A promise was made, and it will be kept. I will leave for now. But when it matters most, I will return."

Kate crumpled to the ground and rapidly panted as if she had almost drowned. In an uncommon act of kindness, Morrigan sat beside Kate and tried to comfort her by awkwardly placing a hand on her back.

"You need answers no doubt. I apologies for having none to give." Freya sympathized.

"I understand." Trey nodded.

Freya pulled Trey closer and held out her hand. A ring to the exact liking of Morrigan's was nestled in her palm. She took Trey's left hand and dropped the cold ring in it.

"When four people wear the rings, they will be taken to your world. It's the only way back to Bernadette. You have three. The other is closer than you think." Freya quickly explained.

"Thank you…for everything."

Freya seemed to ignore the thanks and quickly gave a warning, "Know your friends well."

Trey simply nodded, and Freya retreated further into her black cave.

The three mages silently found their way out of the cave. And at least now, they had a plan.

* * *

_If you are still reading this…pat yourself on the back for you are a huge trooper :D_

_I appreciate your support and the fact that you continue to read even after my infrequent updates! THANKS!_


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